The Shadow's Song
by Iwovepizza
Summary: You'd think that after defeating Gaea the two camps would get a break. Wrong. A new disease is sweeping the population of demigods; targeting children of Zeus and Jupiter, and Jason gets infected. Percy, Piper, and Leo set out on a quest to find a cure, while back at Camp Half-Blood Nico watches in horror as Jason is reduced to less than an animal. Rated T for gore
1. The Bite

**(A/N) 'Sup guys? I've been working on his for a really, really long time and never got to post it because I'm working on two other stories. I decided that since it is my b-day I would post it now. Since I've been working on it for so long, I will be able to post at least four chapters this time! This book will be better than the summary, I promise. If I spell anything wrong or just screw stuff up I'm apologizing beforehand. This story will be serious and gory. Just telling you now. I should stop talking. You probably want to read the actual story and not the damn author's note. **

**Disclaimer: The PJO characters are RICK'S. Not mine, Rick's. Just putting that out there. **

Chapter One: The Bite

**Jason POV**

"What the hell is it?" I asked Chiron as we stared at the thing in the cage. Nico and Percy accompanied us as well, for with their help we had captured this thing and brought it to Camp Half-Blood. I had no idea why Chiron had requested that we'd bring it back alive; this thing was a monster and I didn't understand why it was alive at all.

Chiron seemed worried. The monster had easily been brought through the barrier, which meant that monsters may have been becoming immune to the protective shield that Thalia's tree emitted. I wondered if we were going to somehow replace it. If all of a sudden there were new monsters that could get through the barrier, nobody was safe. Chiron seemed to be aware of this as he studied the thing with great interest.

"I honestly have no clue what it could possibly be." Chiron admitted. "It's not from any Greek myth I've ever heard of, and trust me; I was there when all of those 'myths' happened." I stared at the creature before me. It was somewhat humanoid; if that human had been snorting something and had had a terrible run-in with a chainsaw. It was a he, because it could talk, unlike other monsters, and scare the living crap out of you with his "I-haven't-had-any-water-since-three-years-ago" voice.

Speaking of water, the thing didn't eat or drink at all. It just sat there in the cage doing nothing. You could clearly see all of its bones greatly defied through his tattered clothing, as if his skin was stretched over sticks. On top of that, all of his veins were outlined in a sickly green color. He didn't even sleep, which explained the large bags under his eyes that made it seem like Nico had only missed a few minutes of sleep, and that was saying a lot. I was wondering how it was even alive. Then again, I wondered how monsters in general were alive if they only ate demigod.

"Dang, that thing is scary as hell, and I've seen a lot of freaky-ass monsters. I've even seen Tartarus for the gods' sake and this thing makes it seem like a park." Percy scoffed. The creature usually ignored us, but at Percy's comment it raised its head. I was greeted by a gruesome face that would've made the girl from the Ring run right back into the TV screaming for her mommy. He had no hair and one of his eyes had been gouged out by God-knows-what. I shivered as he looked at me with his one eye. His good eye, needless to say his only eye, was wild with a feral light that you only saw in the eyes of a cornered animal. His skin looked as if it had been bleached of color and was a milky white, vampire-style; again outdoing Nico. It's sad to say that I compare Nico to creepy things a lot.

"Hello." When the thing spoke, all of us leapt back. Chiron looked stunned. Even though we knew it could talk, it rarely did so. I didn't blame him; with that voice of his I wouldn't want to speak much either. It made a strangled sound in his throat and grinned as if it were a good thing. His teeth were serrated, for he spent his entire time in the cell sharpening his teeth with rocks until they were pointy and could tear flesh apart easily.

"He's a demigod." Chiron said hoarsely (**A/N Ba dum bum tiss! Get it? Hoarse? And Chiron's a centaur? Never mind.) **The three of us turned to him. _What the hell is he smoking? That thing is certainly not a demigod, much less a human. _I thought bitterly. Even though Chiron was wise and had trained the best of heroes, I had to admit that I'd question his judgment from time to time. Now was one of those times.

"How do you know?" Nico, who had been silent this whole time, retorted and rolled his eyes. He gave us a _can you believe this guy _look that Chiron either didn't see or didn't care that he'd seen it. The centaur trotted closer to the cage. His upper half donned a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt while his horse half was newly brushed.

"He has this aura to him. I can feel it. On top of the fact that he is humanoid, can talk, and was able to pass through the barrier unlike monsters and mortals, there is simply no other explanation. Besides, no new monsters can ever be created ever." Chiron murmured, almost in a trance-like state and took another few steps towards the cage.

"Are you insane?" I hissed. I knew I was being rude and utterly disrespectful. In the legion I would've been sewn into a sack of angry weasels and tossed into the Little Tiber for showing such insolence to a 'higher-ranking' officer. But he was actually going up to the monster? Who knew what it would do when someone came close? Rip their face off and eat it, that's what, though the monster didn't seem like the face-eating type. More like the attack you, stalk you until you die of blood loss (attacking you again if you somehow heal), then eat your remains type.

"Silence, Jason." Chiron snorted and turned to the creature. It tilted its head to the side and I thought his head was going to turn 180 degrees but the thing only seemed interested rather than hostile. Screw that, it looked totally hostile, it just didn't act like it. "What is your name?" Chiron asked slowly, as if he were talking to an animal, which he kind of was. I doubted it even remembered his name, an even if he had one I had no idea what use that would be in this situation.

The creature smiled, revealing his jagged teeth. I gulped as I envisioned him tearing my throat out. "I am Matthew." It giggled, which screamed insanity.

"Hello, Matthew." Chiron was still talking in that slow, soothing voice of his. "Why did you try to attack one of our campers?" Matthew shakily stood up. His clothes were in tatters and some of his fingers were missing. There were gashes on his body that showed bone, but Matthew didn't seem to be in any physical pain.

"The Shadow's Song." Matthew said quickly, like lunatic villains do when they're explaining their evil plans. His eye darted around as if it had a mind of its own. He was still wearing that freaky grin of his.

"Excuse me?" Chiron asked. His tone was curious. How could this "Shadow's Song" drive a regular teenager to this sort of insanity and appearance? I certainly wanted to know, and it looked like Percy and Nico wanted to find out as well; Nico was peering at Matthew curiously and Percy's eyebrows rose like they did when he was interested.

_"__The Shadow's Song infects them all. The children of Zeus will crumble and fall. They'll go insane and kill the best, while the shadows rebel and destroy the rest." _Matthew chanted. All of us gasped. That sounded like a prophecy. It was a very dark, creepy prophecy but still a prophecy. How could a demigod of this sort of insanity memorize lines of a prophecy, much less hear some? Had he consulted Rachel or overheard one of Octavian's auguries back at Camp Jupiter? Was he a legionnaire gone mad or a lone demigod that somehow survived in the harsh outside world without getting killed? All of these questions rattled inside my skull as we stood in an utter silence.

"Is there any more, Matthew?" Chiron questioned. He had taken out a notepad and scrawling the words to the prophecy to give to Rachel. The Oracle needed to hear this, because if she hadn't prophesized this, then the so-called prophecy might as well be made up. Or Rachel might've been hiding something from us...I swatted that thought from my head. Rachel would never hide any prophecy from us…unless she shared it with Chiron and they were just concealing the information to not cause panic. I had to question the centaur later. Matthew nodded but then shook his head.

"Is that a yes or a no? Are there more lines or not?" Nico scoffed and crossed his arms. Despite his sassy comment, his brown eyes revealed that he was terrified of this deranged demigod. The main question was how he became so insane? Did he get captured and tortured by Gaea or the titans? Why would children of Zeus quote unquote 'crumble and fall'? And what the hell was the freaking Shadow's Song?

"It is a yes; there are more lines, but only the shadows know that part." He snickered. This kid was insane. He began to laugh, a petty cackle that sent chills racing up and down my spine. It was probably the scariest thing I've ever heard, besides the Giants' war cries as they charged into battle against us.

"Can we ask the shadows what the rest is?" Percy asked. He had picked up on the whole calm-the-crazy-creature-down thing that Chiron was a part of and was talking in a reassuring manner.

"Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope! One of you needs to hear the Shadow's Song." Matthew chortled and clapped his hands. It was an uneven sound, for Matthew here didn't have all ten fingers.

"Um…how do you hear the Shadow's Song?" I inquired in a gentle way. I stepped closer to the cage than I can give myself credit for, and Matthew's ugly face was staring at me right through the bars, his one eye gleaming in the relative darkness.

"I can help you hear it!" Matthew chuckled. Before I could even respond he grabbed my wrist and pulled it into the cage. Nico and Percy drew their weapons and tried to yank my arm from Matthew's hands, but even for a demented, sickly teenager with only seven fingers instead of ten; his grip was like a vice. I shrieked as he drove his jagged teeth into my wrist.

"Let go!" I howled and tried to pull away. Matthew didn't seem to be trying to hold onto me anymore and he let me recoil. I cradled my hand against my chest and glared at the sickly creature.

"You said you wanted to hear the Shadow's Song! Now you can!" Matthew laughed. "You get to hear the last lines with me!" I didn't want to do anything with Matthew. Not now, not ever. This demigod was reduced to nothing more than a monster. It deserved to die.

"We should kill it!" Percy growled and twirled his sword. The laid-back son of Poseidon was tenser than he usually was. Behind the hostility was fear, and I knew it. Percy knew that Matthew could provide us with information, but he was fearful that he would somehow escape and kill a few campers.

"No need!" Matthew tittered. "The people who hear the Shadow's Song are usually going to go bye-bye!" Matthew made a petty little waving gesture. "But we get to hear the last line when we are dying!"

"You mean the last line of the prophecy?" Nico asked quizzically. His Stygian iron sword was still in his hand and Nico was gripping it so hard his knuckles were turning white, which didn't really appear on his pale skin.

"Yes, the one only the shadows know!" he snickered. "Forty days! Forty days! Forty days until he hears the Shadow's Song!" Matthew pointed to me with a little stump of a right index finger. I shrank back. Matthew had said that people who hear the Shadow's Song usually die, and he had claimed that I would hear the Shadow's Song in forty days.

**(A/N) Do you like it? Do you hate it? Is it so bad that I should stop it? Do you have any suggestions for what should happen in the story? I have no idea where this story is going; I just wanted to write a fanfiction about a…. JK I'm not telling you what the Shadow's Song is! You'll have to damn read the next chapter, since I'm not truly revealing what it is until the end of the second chapter! *evil laugh* Forty days, my friends, wait and see! *giggles as if high on weed***


	2. The Infection

**(A/N) It's time to see what Jason does after the run-in with Matthew. BTW the entire story will be narrated by Jason and only will be narrated by another person's POV when Jason… (LOL I'm not telling you) **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Two: The Infection

Nico, Percy, and I left the room in the Big House where Matthew's cage was. Chiron remained and claimed that he was going to try and get more information out of the crazed demigod. Matthew's cage was in an unused storage room, but it fit perfectly. Don't worry we weren't torturing the kid; there was a bed, a toilet, and a food dispenser so we didn't have to reach through the bars to give Matthew his food, not like the kid ate anything to begin with. I vowed never to go back there; I didn't want freaky-ass Matthew to bite my wrist again.

Speaking of my wrist, it was throbbing more than it should have. I didn't really care at the time, since it wasn't too painful; only when I moved it did pain flare up. Like a retard I didn't go to the infirmary; it was only a bite, no big deal. Percy, Nico, and I went our separate ways; I went to archery, Percy went to teach sword fighting, and Nico was going to scale the rock climbing wall. I was usually decent at archery; at least I could hit the target, unlike some other campers. But today, I sucked at it.

I concentrated on the target, which was shaped like an enemy soldier, a Cyclopes to be exact. There were red dots where the brain, the heart, and the throat were. Those were the main points you has to shoot in order to kill a Cyclopes. I concentrated really hard and focused on the red dots. I pulled back the bowstring and pain blazed on my wrist like a raging fire.

I let go immediately and the arrow sailed at least twenty feet off course, right into my instructor, a son of Apollo's, armor. He pulled it out and scowled at me. "You're lucky I was wearing armor, Grace." He scoffed, obviously both ticked off that I'd shot him and unhappy with my archery skills.

The day went on like that. I'd try something, my wrist would hurt like hell, and I would mess everything up. Finally it was my last activity before dinner. Sword fighting with none other than Perseus Jackson. Percy showed me how to disarm someone by demonstrating with me, a Greek move that Roman legion training never taught you. As the sword clattered out of my hand I let out a yelp of agony and clutched my wrist, breathing heavily and closing my eyes. I counted to ten and the pain subsided slightly. I opened my eyes to see a concerned-looking Percy staring at me.

"You should really get your wrist checked out." He advised and frowned. His armor was on crooked and I knew Annabeth would not be pleased the slightest bit. Percy either didn't know or didn't care and that's what I liked about him.

"Nah, its fine. It's just a little bite how bad could it possibly be?" I tried to make humor out of this situation, but Percy wasn't convinced. I knew he could see right through me; he could see how much pain I was in.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. He seemed genuinely alarmed, but I waved him off. I didn't need to be stuck in the infirmary all day and I certainly didn't want my friends worrying about me.

"I'm positive. As I said; how bad could it possibly be?"

-Ω-

It was the most awful thing I'd ever experienced. After an agonizing dinner my wrist seemed to throb even more than before. I refused to look at it, for I feared that would only make things worse than it already was, and that would certainly suck ass. Percy and Annabeth had invited me to the beach earlier, along with the rest of the crew on the Argo II. I graciously accepted; I needed to have some alone time with just the guys from the Argo II. Besides, with all of the camp activities Piper and I had never really gotten to hang out, and I missed her dearly.

I knocked on the door of the Aphrodite cabin and Piper answered. She smiled when she realized I was here to pick her up and walk her to the beach. "One moment, Sparky." She teased and planted a kiss on my cheek before re-entering her cabin. After waiting for a half hour (which I hated, but hey; women are women) Piper finally emerged. My mouth dropped open. She was gorgeous. She had applied a little makeup and her lips were a rosy red and eyeliner brought out those intense, multicolored eyes of hers. "Are you ready?" she asked. I could only nod.

We held hands as we strolled over the white, sandy dunes of the beach. The full moon shined brightly overhead, casting beams of moonlight down onto the crashing waves. The pain in my wrist lowered to a dim throbbing as I listened to the waves lapping at the sand. Stars twinkled overhead and I saw the shape of the new constellation; the Huntress, who was supposedly Percy and Annabeth's old friend Zoe Nightshade.

We ambled towards the little group that was sitting around a tiny bonfire. As we approached we made out the wavy blonde hair of Annabeth and the jet-black, unkempt hair of Percy. Sadly, not the entirety of the crew was there; Hazel and Frank were at Camp Jupiter and Coach Hedge was taking care of his new daughter, Bark, whom they'd named for the way she barks like a dog whenever she's upset, and partially because Bark is a nature-y kind of name. That's how nymphs and satyrs liked it. We sat down next to each other in between Leo and Nico, who had scooted to make room for us.

We talked and chatted about our adventures on the Argo II and I was surprised that two years had passed since we had defeated Gaea. It seemed like yesterday, but when in fact it was a moderately long time ago. Festus now had a body and a new disk for his head, which Leo had asked as a wish that everyone was granted after we'd defeated the earth goddess.

Even Calypso had gotten off her island was living at Camp Half-Blood, yet she had gone to Camp Jupiter with Hazel and Frank to check out New Rome. The two camps had gotten over their differences once the Athena Parthenos was retrieved from Rome and now they were friendly with each other. Octavian had been stripped of his service in the legion and kicked out of Camp Jupiter when it was found out that he was actually conspiring with Gaea. In other words, life was good. I was in the middle of a serious conversation with Percy about blue food when a burst of pain exploded in my wrist.

"Jason, blue food is possible-are you okay?" Percy's sentence was cut off by a wail of agony. I held my wrist so tightly that the circulation was cut off. I counted to ten. It still burned. Anguish raced up and down my arm and it was so bad I thought that my hand would fall off. Everyone rushed over as I collapsed, moaning.

"I told you that you should get your wrist check out!" Percy cried and rushed over. He knelt beside me and the others gathered around, holding their breaths as Percy tried to pry my hand off of my wrist.

"Let go!" Nico urged and I shook my head, my face scrunched up in pain. "Let him look at it!" the son of Hades said, this time more forcefully. He knelt down on my other side and helped Percy wrench my hand free of my wrist. There was a collective gasp and I moaned; I didn't want to see it.

"Jason." I heard Leo whisper forlornly and Piper had tears streaming down her face. Leo was making a vain effort to console her, but she pulled away from him. I hated seeing my girlfriend cry and I felt even guiltier when I realized I was the reason why she was crying. I screeched and tried to squirm away from Percy's grip when he touched my wrist.

"Look." Percy told me.

"I don't want to see it." I whimpered and looked away. Percy poked my wrist again and I screamed in agony and tried to writhe away from him once more, but Percy held tight, which made me scream even harder. I sounded like I was being tortured, which was the case if you called excruciating pain torture. Other campers had come running and now the beach was becoming crowded. People peeked over my friends' shoulders, only for their eyes to widen and they drew away to tell others.

"Open up your eyes, idiot." Nico scolded and prodded me. Percy said nothing, he just held my wrist gently, careful not to squeeze it.

"Don't force him." Percy told Nico calmly. I was trembling and my anguish had faded to a painful throbbing. Why did a bite hurt so much? It was only a bite, after all. It wasn't even a werewolf or vampire bite; it was a human bite. _But that human heard the Shadow's Songs. _A voice whispered in my mind. I swatted it away. Only a lycanthrope (werewolf) disease can be spread by biting. The bacteria had to be in his mouth for it to infect me, and to transfer it to me he'd have to draw blood…uh-oh.

That's when I opened my eyes. Percy's body was blocking my wrist from view, but I knew that the sight wouldn't be good. Percy gave me a look of pity as he moved out of the way. I nearly fainted. The bite, four jagged holes indented into my skin, was bleeding heavily. Blood oozed down my arm and pooled on the sand. There was silence for a moment, before I shattered it with an earsplitting screech. My breath quickened as I saw that my veins were outlined in a sickly green color; spider webs of veins could be seen on my arm, nowhere else. It seemed that the green pigment was spreading; the color was creeping up my arm, outlining even more veins until it reached my neck.

"It hurts!" I wailed and went limp. I could barely breathe. Forty days. I had forty days until all of my veins were defined in green. I finally knew what the Shadow's Song was; a virus that infected sons of Zeus and Jupiter. _The Shadow's Song will infect them all, _meaning all of the children of Zeus and Jupiter. _The children of Zeus will crumble and fall; _we would succumb to the sickness sooner or later, no matter how much we fought it. _They will go insane and kill the best, while the shadows rebel and kill the rest. _I still had no idea what those lines meant, but I only knew one thing for sure; I was doomed.


	3. Winding Down

**(A/N) Did you figure it out already? Because I had a feeling you'd would. Now this next chapter is going to get deep. Really deep. If you hate hibbie-jeebies, read no further. The book is basically polluted with those moments. I hope you enjoy. Jason's time is ticking.**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Three: Winding Down

**Nico POV**

After that little dilemma at the beach, everyone had rushed Jason to the infirmary. We'd treated and tended the wound, given Jason ambrosia and nectar, and even tried to stitch the bite holes up so at least they would stop bleeding continuously like they always did. The spider web of veins didn't go away. This was some freaky-ass stuff, and I'm the son of Hades; I shouldn't be calling anything freaky-ass besides myself. That was not the case.

Chiron had notified every camper about the Shadow's Song, even though they were immune to it; it was the sons and daughters of Zeus and Jupiter that really needed to be on watch, but Jason was the only child of the lightning god at camp, so nobody really had to worry. Despite some camper's protests that we should quarantine him, Chiron allowed Jason to wander, as long as he had his assigned guard with him at all times.

Since Percy and I were the ones who knew most about the Shadow's Song, we switched off; Percy would keep an eye on Jason in the mornings and I would take responsibility when nightfall came. I regretted volunteering to do that, because ten days into his diagnosed infection, Jason began to go a little nuts.

He'd mutter things under his breath all the time and his eyes assumed a crazy gleam. He refused to cut his hair and now it was so long that it hung in his eyes. Jason either didn't now or didn't care. Most people would think that I was the lucky one; I got to watch over Jason while he was sleeping, but that was not the case. Jason never slept.

I'd watch him fold his knees against his chest and rock back and forth on his bed, mumbling to himself. That was some freaky stuff right there. Once I accidentally fell asleep on watch, and I woke up to see Jason towering over me, is eyes wide and his pupils but little dots in his sockets even though it was dark in the Zeus cabin. He grinned so wide it was a smile of a lunatic.

"Holy crap, Jason! What do you want? Do you need to go to the bathroom? Are you hungry? You didn't eat at all yesterday." I asked him.

Jason shook his head, his huge smile never wavering. "No, no. It's nothing." He exclaimed, his voices three octaves higher than usual. He stalked back to bed and resumed his rocking.

"Um…Jason?" I asked. Jason turned towards me in a very creepy way. His smile was wider than ever.

"Hmm?" Jason acknowledged me, then broke down into a fit of giggles as if his response was a hysterical joke. I wished I had Percy's job; this event wouldn't have been as creepy if it was during the morning.

"Are you…okay?" I questioned slowly. Of course he wasn't okay. He had a disease that was slowly making him insane. He couldn't have been more _NOT _okay.

"Jason hears the songs." He giggled. "The Shadow's Songs. The shadows are singing to Jason. They have pretty voices." That's creepy. Now your once stable friend was blabbering about singing shadows and was talking about himself in third person. Who the hell set this up?

"Um…what re they singing about?" Careful not to make any sudden movements, I slowly reached into my jacket pocket and took out a notepad and a pen. Chiron had told me to record any odd behaviors or things he said. This was definitely odd behavior.

_Mumbles to self_

_Voice three octaves higher than usual_

_Talks about self in third person_

_Keeps babbling about how 'the shadows are singing to him'_

_Claims that the songs that the shadows were singing well_

I kept my notepad and pen ready, just in case I had to write anything else down.

"They are singing to Jason." Jason repeated. "They are good singers."

"But what are they singing about? Love? Happiness?" I threw out a few examples, but the two examples I really wanted to use were darkness and hatred, but I didn't want to freak Jason out.

"Jason doesn't know. They are singing to him. It is pretty music." Jason chortled in reply. I realized that I wasn't getting anywhere with this, but I was aware of the fact that Jason was fading, replaced by a psychopath that didn't even know how to talk in first person. I could see every one of his veins, except for the ones on his face, but I could see the green stuff, the infection, rising up to his cheeks. It barely moved since Jason still had twenty-seven days left before the forty days were up. Then the Jason I'd once known would be gone; replaced by an animal.

**Jason POV**

I listened in wonder as the shadows sang their lovely song to me. I was mesmerized by how beautiful their voices were; like a soft spring breeze rustling through treetops. I didn't care what I was doing right now, all that mattered was that I had to listen to the music. A voice nagged in the back of my mind that the music was bad, that I shouldn't listen to it. _It's so pretty though. It can't be bad. _I replied, but little did I know that I'd mumbled it to myself out loud.

I felt bad for kid that watched me at night…was his name Nemo? Yeah, Nemo. He obviously could not hear the melody. He looked sad. If he heard the music, he could be happy. It was pretty music. I swayed back and forth with the enticing rhythm and watched as the shadows, another thing Nemo couldn't see, dance around the walls. There were boys, girls, dogs, cats, men, and women. They all sang their beautiful song and gracefully leaped to and fro, with the animals at their heels. It looked like such a happy place. I wanted to be there with them.

Sadly, every time I stepped towards them I smashed into the wall. I could not be with them. Nemo had a horrified look on his face. I bet that since he couldn't see the shadows or hear the music, he probably thought I was insane. What a thought! I hummed along to their tune, which was upbeat and had a fast tempo. It was in a language I didn't understand, but it isn't about what they're saying, it's about what they are feeling. Their voices were beautiful and they sang joyfully, as if there was no tomorrow. I wanted to get up and dance with them, but I knew Nemo would get scared. I didn't want Nemo to get scared. He was my friend and friends don't let friends get scared.

I knew one day I'd actually get to be with them. Today was not that day. I was sad; I'd take Nemo with me and he'd see what fun I'd been having. It would be good and I'd finally see Nemo smile. I liked it when people smiled. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty, but I didn't want to miss a second of the shadows' song. It was also frustrating that lightning kept flashing and thunder kept booming. It was distracting me from the music! The statue of the hippie guy wasn't helping either. He seemed to scare the shadows. I didn't want them to be scared, because if they were scared they couldn't sing and I liked their singing. So I tucked my legs against my chest and bobbed my head to the music for the rest of the night, wishing that Nemo could bob his head along right next to me.

**(A/N) I think it's cute how Jason never stops thinking about Nico and wants to make him happy. It was very hard to write in babyish language and repeat sentences and phrases, just to let you know. I needed to give the impression that Jason's sanity was waning. I hope you thought it was good.**


	4. Percy's Shift

**(A/N) Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock, it's a clock (All Hunger Games fans should know where that is from) Jason's time is winding down. Sit back relax, and watch the proud, noble, helpful, optimistic, heroic son of Jupiter slowly be reduced to an animal! (Don't forget the popcorn)**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Four: Percy's Shift

**Percy POV**

Instead of going rock climbing, training in the arena, riding Blackjack, or playing capture the flag, I was stuck on babysitter duty. It sucked, since I had to follow an insane demigod around all day rather than doing the fun stuff that you were supposed to do.

At twelve a.m. my alarm clock woke me up. At first I thought _Why What the hell did I set it for twelve I the morning? _But then I realized (whoopee) my shift was starting. I threw on some clothes and lumbered out of my cabin. All the lights in the other cabins were off, and even though I knew that the Zeus cabin was occupied with campers who were wide awake, the lights weren't on in there either. It was creepy as hell.

I hobbled up the steps, my back still sore from last night's sleep. I knocked on the door, soft enough not to wake everyone up but loud enough to alert Nico that I was ready to take over. It took a few moments, but the door was finally answered by Nico. "He's growing more insane by the second." He muttered into my ear and slipped me a notebook and a pen. "Write down anything suspicious. I'm going to crash." I realized that the bags under Nico's eyes were more defined and his skin was paler than usual. Could Jason be really that looney already?

I walked inside and carefully closed the door. Thunder rolled overhead and little lightning strikes flashed in the misty clouds on the Cabin One roof. Zeus glared down at me, as if he was not amused. The master bolt was in his hand and it looked as if he were going to zap me with it. There was no sign of Jason, but I did hear murmuring on the opposite side of Zeus' statue.

"Jason?" I asked hesitantly and stalked around the statue. I had to be alert; Jason was losing his sanity and was becoming a loose cannon. I turned a corner and there he was. Most of his veins were outlined in green; only his head and face were untouched. His eyes crossed and uncrossed at random and had a wild gleam to them. Jason turned to me and grinned like a madman, which he was. "You're not Nemo." He giggled.

"Excuse me?" I asked, which made him laugh even harder. It screamed insanity. Jason didn't answer, but he did hold up his hands. I gasped and stumbled back when I realized that he didn't have a left index finger; it was only a bloody stump. "What did you do!?" I cried. Jason laughed hysterically.

"Tasty." He chuckled. Jason had eaten his own finger. Blood oozed down his arm and soaked his tattered clothes. This was going too far. Jason began to gnaw on one of his other fingers. Before, it had deep bite marks in it; which suggested he's been doing it for a while.

"NO!" I howled and ran over. I took Jason's poor fingers out of his mouth and he glared at me.

"You are distracting me from the music! I liked Nemo better; he didn't interrupt the music!" he yammered. His words were slurred and his mouth was contorted into a scowl. He slapped me across the face and I staggered back in shock. Jason would never slap any of his friends. As I stared at the blabbering figure in front of me I knew that that wasn't Jason. It was an animal, maybe even less than an animal.

Jason got up and stormed towards me. He grabbed me by my shirt and punched me in the face. The fact that I knew that the old Jason was gone hurt me more than the punch itself. Jason grinned at me. His eyes were like a cornered animal's; they shone with a rather broken and feral light.

"I didn't want to do this Jason." I murmured to him, but I took a deep breath and punched him. I cringed when my fist collided with his chest. I was punching my friend. _Your friend has turned into a monster. _A voice in my head whispered. Jason let out a strangled cry that ripped through the air. Everyone at camp must've heard it because the normal bustle and activity seemed to stop dead.

Jason glared at me and stormed back to his bed. It was over. Jason sat on his bed and slipped his good hand under the pillow. I walked up to him and he looked up at me, his eyes full of hatred. "I missed some of the music." He snarled.

"I'm sorry Jason. I don't know what this music you're talking about is, but I'm sorry for upsetting you." I replied in the most soothing voice I could manage.

"Sorry isn't good enough." Jason sneered and pulled his hand out from under the pillow, holding a knife. I stumbled back as Jason rose to his feet. Lightning flashed overhead and the knife blade gleamed. I heard banging on the door and people screaming my name. Nobody bothered to call out for Jason. He would die anyway. Jason bellowed and lunged at me. Even for an insane lunatic he was fast. The blade gauged a cut in my arm before Jason pulled it away, the blade coated in blood. My blood.

I wailed and clutched my arm. Blood was everywhere. The gash burned like the fires of hell. This was some serious trouble. "PERCY!" people screamed from the outside, but apparently Jason had locked it from the inside. I knew that they were going to bring the heavy artillery soon, and if they saw Jason trying to kill me my friend would be slain. He would have no chance of survival.

I looked up to see the most horrific thing ever. Jason was rasping his tongue over the blade, lapping up the blood. He grinned and is mouth was stained redder than Dakota's. "Mmm." He giggled and licked up the last bit of blood. I screamed again and that jerked Jason back to reality. He growled and raised the knife over me. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to come, but it never did.

After a while I dared to open up my eyes a crack. Jason was staring at the knife, his expression rather dumbfounded. He looked at me with round, sad blue eyes. "You are my friend." He muttered to himself. "I cannot kill my friend." Then he lumbered back to his bed. I watched in shock. I hadn't needed to try and stop Jason; Jason had stopped himself. Maybe it was possible to save him after all. My friend began to gnaw on his finger again, but when he saw me staring he slipped his out of his mouth, a look of guilt on his face.

The doors exploded and Jason whimpered as the sunlight filtered in. I squinted; after being in the dark cabin for hours, I was not used to the brightness. Jason looked at the walls and he lost it.

"Where did they go? I can't see them! They aren't dancing anymore but I can still hear their singing! Come back!" he wailed and clawed at the walls. All of my hope for Jason faded. I sadly accepted the fact that there was no going back. The Jason here was not the Jason I knew eleven days ago. Even if we did cure him he would never be the same. As half of my fellow campers ushered me to the Big House to get to the infirmary. The other half was dragging Jason, kicking and screaming, to Matthew's cell, for the boy had died two days ago when the disease finally overcame him.

I vowed that I would find the cure for the Shadow's Song. I'd need to trace it back to the source. There could be hope for Jason yet and even if he did die, the search for the antidote would be in his honor. There had to be a way to cure it. There had to be. All of these thoughts ran through my head as my comrades lowered me into a bed and I passed out from the pain in my arm.


	5. Sorry

I know you were expecting a chapter after the long wait, and I am so sorry for not updating sooner. Please don't kill me, but I'm sorry to say that my computer broke and therefore I won't be able to update. I am writing from my iPad mini and this isn't very comfortable. Until I can get my computer fixed, I won't be updating for a very very long time. I will update as soon as possible when I get my computer fixed, but please stay tuned.

-iwovepizza


	6. The Quest

**(A/N) I'M BAAAACCCKKKKK! YAY! MORE UPDATES NOW THAT MY COMPUTER IS FIXED! Anyway, I hope you like this schist and read the dam chapter (wink, wink)**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO**

Chapter Five: The Quest

**Piper POV**

It was awful. All I did was cry. I couldn't believe, after all of the monsters we've battled and the giants we've slain, that Jason's life would succumb to a disease and he wouldn't go down fighting. It wasn't even just me, the whole camp was shrouded in gloom. Chiron had informed us that Jason had a lethal and highly contagious disease when it came to children of Zeus and Jupiter. Only Percy and Nico were allowed around him, for they were his escort.

Chiron had notified Camp Jupiter so they could be aware of this new disease. Reyna had greeted the news of Jason being infected with a poker face, but if you looked through her eyes you could see right through her mask; she was devastated. She had told Chiron that Lupa had recently sent a son of Jupiter to their camp and now he was under a watchful eye; he had armed escorts and was tested for the disease constantly.

Now the camp seemed sort of dead in a way. We still went to sword fighting lessons, but we clashed half-heartedly. It didn't help that our new instructor was Clarisse since Percy was always watching Jason during the morning. We climbed the rock wall but we didn't really have a drive to get to the top. Our chariot races and capture the flag games were still held, but nobody seemed to feel like winning, since they were a chariot short.

Now all of the Head Counselors were gathered around the pig-pong table, along with Chiron and Rachel. Nobody was playing pranks or stuffing pencils up a snoozing Clovis' nose. Percy and Nico were there, too. I had no idea why; wasn't Jason supposed to be supervised at all times? Besides the Head Counselors, all of the seven were invited, too. Since Hazel and Frank had settled back at Camp Jupiter, we iris-messaged them so they could be a part of this super-urgent meeting that required both camps. Reyna was with Hazel and Frank as well. Everyone was here; all of the counselors, two Praetors, a centaur, an oracle, and the seven, except that one person who was all three of those things, or at least _had_ been all three of those things, was not present. His chair was empty.

"Let's get down to business." Chiron finally spoke up after an hour of preparation; sending iris-messages and providing seats and refreshments. Almost everyone was standing and the food was untouched, though. We all seemed to know why we were here. "Percy, Nico, maybe you should start."

After a silent argument, Nico spoke up, "You may be wondering why we are here. Argus is now watching over Jason, for he is no longer allowed to wander or even be in his cabin. He has been moved to Matthew's…" Nico obviously didn't want to say cage, "…quarters, since the boy has passed because of the disease and Argus can easily keeping an eye on him. We couldn't have supervised him any longer, it was beginning to become dangerous. Jason's sanity is, I'm sorry to say, gone. He's completely lost it. He even attempted homicide, as the Ares cabin can prove when they barged into the Zeus cabin and rescued Percy."

Clarisse nodded and resumed in Nico's place. "We were walking through the commons area to try and find some inspiration for the new chariot we are going to build to kick all of your asses in the chariot race." She scoffed, except her challenge seemed rather unenthusiastic unlike her usual, wholehearted gruffness and eagerness to pummel her opponents. She continued, "When we heard screaming. It sounded as if its owner was both scared and in pain,"

"Which I was." Percy added, picking at the gauze that was wrapped around his arm. Clarisse shot him a withering glare for interrupting her.

"It was coming from the Zeus cabin, so we ran and tried to open it, but it was locked from the inside. We had to use our swords to hack it down. We saw an insane-looking Jason rocking back and forth on a bed and a wounded twerp," she glanced at Percy and some people snickered, "who was screaming like a baby. I didn't blame him though, there was a huge gash in his arm. Then Jason just lost his mind; he ran to the walls and began banging on them, screaming about dancing and singing shadows and it took the entire bulk of the Ares cabin to haul him off and get him into Matthew's cage-I mean quarters. If you go a little farther down the hall you can still hear him screaming his damn head off."

After Clarisse finished, all eyes turned to me to see how I would react. I had to admit, I was on the verge of tears and I collapsed onto my chair sobbing into my hands. Katie and Percy tried to comfort me, but I didn't want their comfort. I wanted Jason. Not insane, infected-with-a-disease Jason; normal Jason who would catch me if I fell off the Grand Canyon and comfort me when times seemed hopeless. It had to be only two years after the Prophecy of Seven that the Shadow's Song had to suddenly appear. We couldn't get a break for even a decade. The Fates were cruel; they never seemed to give us some breathing space.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Katie asked. She seemed more worried than most. During our two years of break, she had come close to Jason when he'd helped water the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with his flying. They'd started to chat and they found out that they had a lot in common. Since then they'd hung out and when I wasn't too busy being Head Counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, I'd tag along.

"Well I think a quest has to be issued." Chiron admitted. "We need to track this disease to the source and possibly find a cure for Jason. Only then will we be able to relax." There was an uproar; everyone was speaking at once.

"Who will go!?"

"Where will the cure be!?"

"How can we get there!?"

"What time is left for Jason!?"

"When will we set off!?"

"Why are we yelling!?"

"CALM DOWN!" Rachel's voice rose above the chaos. The shouting died down into silence. "Thank you. Now I know that Matthew had mentioned a prophecy. I have not had any messages from the oracle, nor have I received any prophecies myself. I am not sure whether the prophecy is real or not-" Rachel's voice was cut off by green light. The oracle swooned and Percy and Nico caught her and sat her down.

Rachel's eyes glowed green and green light poured from her mouth as she spoke;

_The Shadow's Song infects them all_

_The children of Zeus will crumble and fall_

_They'll go insane and kill the best,_

_While the shadow's rebel and destroy the rest._

_The forge and the dove will once again unite_

_With the son of the sea the three shall put up a fight_

_They'll travel to the Raven's Crest _

_Where they will find the key to the Shadow's Quest_

_They will fight long and hard but to no prevail_

_In the end all will fail._

"What does it mean?" Clarisse asked.

"Well I know that the first four lines are the lines that Matthew recited. That means that the prophecy is true. Could the rest be the parts that only the shadows know?" Nico suggested. He, Percy, and Chiron exchanged a look.

"Alright. This is a solo quest. I know that huge quests like these are better off with three people, but Percy here seems to want to do it alone." Chiron announced. Nobody complained. I doubt that anyone would want to try to track down and destroy the source of a deadly disease. "Then it's decided. Percy, do you accept?"

"I do, sir." Percy said.

"Very well." Chiron snorted. "You will leave right away." That's when the earsplitting screech echoed throughout the Big House.


	7. Setting Out

**(A/N) Sorry about the cliffhanger…JK I'm not that sorry. I didn't update sooner because I was working on an awesome PJO/Hunger Games crossover. It was up to a part that I was really looking forward to writing (which was the Tribute Parade and Caesar's talk show, you should really check it out), so I accidentally forgot to update this one. **

**Percy: Iwovepizza DOES NOT own me**

**Nico: Or me**

**Leo: Or me**

**Frank: Or me**

**Hazel: Or me**

**Piper: Or me**

**Annabeth: Or me**

**Every damn PJO character: Or me**

**Jason: Or me**

**Percy: Aren't you supposed to be insane or something?**

**Jason: Shaddap you judgmental bastard *crosses arms and stomps away***

**Percy: What the hell? *throws hands in the air in exasperation***

**Me: Well, you get the idea. I DON'T OWN PJO**

Chapter Six: Setting Out

**Leo POV**

Jason was a cool guy. Laid-back, heroic, and totally chill about the fact that he had a disease that was going to drive him insane. Before he went kray-kray he seemed pretty chillax about everything. He couldn't participate in camp activities, but he still watched from the sidelines and ate meals with us. During our free time we'd play video games in his cabin and I'd kick his sorry butt in Call of Duty, but he didn't seem to care.

He began wearing long-sleeved shirts. Even if it was, like, a bazillion degrees outside, he still wore long sleeves. He seemed pretty nervous and began to keep to his cabin with Nico and Percy. I only found out what the big deal was when I took a bathroom break at the campfire sing-a-long. I found Jason in the bathroom, clutching his hair. He looked up at me with large, round, terrified eyes.

"What's happening to me!?" he screamed and grabbed my shoulders with both hands, shaking me violently. "Tell me!" That's when I saw that there was a windbreaker kicked off to the side and I was able to see Jason's bare arms. Spider webs of green veins snaked up his arms and his neck. It looked absolutely terrifying. I managed to break away from Jason's iron grip and I backed up.

"Listen man, just calm down. Chill. Just calm yourself and-" I never got to finish the sentence because Jason began to scream. He just lost it. He clawed at his face, leaving deep gauges in the flesh. Blood began to trickle down, which made Jason scream harder. That was one event of many to remind us that Jason was going to go insane.

Well, that memory was replaying itself over and over in my head as Argus burst into the room. All of his eyes were round and horrified. I realized that the scream had come from him; because even if you had an eye on your tongue you could still scream. Argus pointed urgently down the hallway and everyone got up and ran to Jason's room. We crashed through the door and stepped towards the cage. Then I saw it. Jason was laughing hysterically; a maniacal, petty laugh that reminded you of a lunatic. His hair was on the floor in blonde clumps. Jason's scalp was nothing but a marred surface of ripped, bloody skin and he was missing two fingers. Jason turned to us and laughed again.

"Fun!" he giggled.

"No! Not fun!" Nico yelped and covered his mouth. Piper's eyes were wide and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Jason." She murmured and hugged herself.

"That is Jason's name." Jason said happily. I couldn't believe that this maniac had once been my friend; my heroic, kind, selfless, optimistic friend was reduced to…this.

"Jason stop this. Stop hurting yourself." I found myself begging to the animal that was once my friend.

"Nope. No, no, no, no, no. Too much fun!" Jason replied and clapped his hands.

"You ripped all of your hair out?" Clarisse asked in awe.

"It was getting in Jason's eyes!" Jason snapped. "It blocked the shadows from him. Jason couldn't see that shadows!" He said this as if it were a horrible thing.

"We could've cut it! You didn't have to rip it out!" Percy gasped.

"Hair would've just grown back. Better if it's gone." Jason replied indignantly. Percy turned to me and Piper.

"You two. We have to go. Now." He declared in a low voice as Jason laughed his ass off for no apparent reason.

"Agreed." The two of us said in unison. Together, the three of us dashed out of the Big House. We passed man curious campers who tried to stop and ask us how Jason was doing, but we ignored them and continued to run. We passed the campfire and the racetrack, as well as the strawberry fields. Satyrs gave angry huffs and shook their fists as we barged through the strawberries, accidently stepping on some of them, but we didn't care. My friends seemed rather confused as we passed the pegasus stables.

"Leo, where are we going? I could've gotten Blackjack…" Percy's voice trailed off as we burst into the woods. I knew the way by heart. We wove through the underbrush and tripped over sticks and rocks, but not once did we stop for a break. Finally we arrived at the entrance to Bunker 9. We all stopped to take a breather. My legs screamed and I was panting, but the adrenaline I had kept me going.

"What is this place, Leo?" Percy asked, staring at the supposedly normal rocky wall.

"Are you serious?" I scoffed, but then I realized that Percy had been at Camp Jupiter when I'd discovered Bunker 9 and began building the Argo II. I sighed; the Argo II had been destroyed during the war with Gaea and the only things we could salvage from the wreckage were the Archimedes sphere, Festus the figurehead (who by the way now had a body), most of the crew's personal belongings (the first discovered being Percy's underwear, which was neon blue and had tridents on them), the tracking device, and the crystal.

"Hello, Festus. Nice to see you two, bud." I laughed and stroked Festus' nose. Festus snorted smoke and made a whirring sound.

_Are we going on a quest?_

"Yes." I told him. I saw Percy watching me in astonishment; he probably didn't know I could speak to machines until now. Piper on the other hand, seemed used to it. I turned to them. "Okay, here are the rules. No dying. No falling. No falling and dying. Got it?" Both of my friends nodded vigorously. I clambered onto Festus' back and helped Piper and Percy mount behind me. I pressed a button on the wall and another section of the Bunker opened up, revealing a hidden runway. A robotic voice began to count down.

_Ten._

Festus spread his wings to their full length and the bronze glittered in the electric lighting,

_Nine. _

I felt Piper shuffling nervously behind me and she held on tight to Festus.

_Eight. _

I tried to steady my breathing; Jason was dying and we had to save him, n matter what the cost. That could give anyone the jitters.

_Seven. _

Percy coughed and I felt him shifting to try and make himself comfortable, which would never happen.

_Six. _

Festus shook his head and snorted smoke, eager to take off.

_Five._

I felt everyone tense as the robotic voice's countdown came to the last five numbers before takeoff.

_Four. _

Festus stomped his feet, making all of us bounce uncomfortably on his back.

_Three. _

_Two. _

_One. _

_Blastoff. _

Festus shot down the runway with such speed my eyes began to tear up. My hair was whipped into a frenzy and the wind clawed at my cheeks and clothes. Festus let out a roar of triumph as we shot into the sky, giving all of us a painful case of whiplash. Piper had given up on holding on to Festus and now had her arms constricting my chest. I could barely breathe, but I managed a chuckle that was lost in the roaring wind. Beauty Queen was always unsure about Festus and this was just pure gold; clinging for dear life on someone who wasn't Jason. Then again Jason was a sick psychopath at the moment who was biting his fingers off, not eating or drinking, and tearing his own hair out without feeling pain.

Finally the ride smoothed out as Festus found an altitude that appeased to him. All three of us were panting and when I looked back my passengers' eyes were wild and their hair stuck up all over the place. "Never riding Festus again." Percy said. That's when I realized something; we didn't even pack for the trip.

"Um…guys?" I began.

"Yeah, I just realized that. This is going to be a problem." Percy snorted, but he was still holding on tightly to Festus. Percy was the most experienced out of all of us; he killed Kronos and Gaea and had years of experience and training. Even he was scared of a bronze dragon, which I couldn't blame him for. He was the leader of this quest and my heart wrenched when I realized that he was in Jason's spot; the spot that the son of Jupiter had sat when we went on our first quest. He had been the leader of that quest and now he was in a cage in the Big House laughing like a freaking lunatic. Great.

"Does anyone have anything in their pockets?" Piper asked. We all rummaged around; I even tried to look for a few bucks or spare change in my magic tool belt, but money wasn't necessarily found around a workshop.

"I have five drachmas and at least ten dollars in mortal cash." Percy said glumly after pulling his hands out of his pockets.

"I have a dollar and fifty-three cents along with two drachmas." Piper added.

"I have breath mints, but that's about it." I snorted, taking out a tin box and popping one into my mouth. "Mmm. Minty."

"LEO!" Both of my companions cried in unison.

"What?" I asked innocently and put the breath mints away.

"So all we have is eleven dollars and fifty-three cents in mortal money and eight drachmas. Wow, this quest is getting off to a good start." Percy growled and rubbed his temples. That's when lightning flashed right in front of us.

"Uh-oh. We got company."


	8. The Map

**(A/N) I decided that to make up to you guys for not updating sooner, I will publish two chapters instead of one. I will try to be better with this story and I'm definitely not giving up on it. Ever. Maybe after the PJO/Hunger Games crossover is finished I can put more time in it, but I warned you that this fanfiction will be slow to update. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Seven: The Map

**Percy POV**

The venti were tough, but we were tougher. As soon as I saw those wind spirits charging at us I uncapped Riptide and was slashing at them form on top of Festus. Piper took out Katropis and began hacking away at any of them that came to close and somehow dodged my ferocious swings. Leo was concentrated on steering Festus through the swirling storm; winds whipped us mercilessly and rain began pouring down in sheets.

I put a protective bubble around us so we didn't get wet, but that didn't prevent lightning from striking horrifyingly close to Festus. The bronze dragon became spooked and roared; thrashing and writhing as if to dodge the lightning bolts that came down. This is why I hated flying. Even though I knew that these lightning bolts weren't Zeus', I was still pretty scared that we'd be knocked out of the sky.

I stood up on Festus' back, keeping a tight grip on Piper's shoulder with one hand and swung at the venti with the other. "Be careful, Percy!" Piper called over the wind's howling and the roaring thunder. Leo was doing the best he could to help Festus navigate through the dark clouds that had engulfed us in inky blackness. I chopped apart a ventus who was in horse form and ran another through. There were so many I couldn't concentrate; they were everywhere. I was so concentrated on my right side that I didn't notice the ventus in human form. He swung at me with his sword and I was caught off-guard as the metal cut a deep gash into my arm.

I yelped and decapitated him and he crumbled to golden powder that got blown away by the wind. All of a sudden I saw a horse ventus prancing around Festus nonchalantly. It was the only one left and I raised Riptide. The only problem was that he didn't attack or anything and he had this pouch tied around his neck with rope. What could possibly be in that pouch and why wasn't the ventus attacking? Weren't all venti hostile? There was only one of them who wasn't and he was here right now.

"Tempest?" Piper asked and the ventus whinnied and but her head with his nose, causing her hair to stick up from the electricity. He whinnied, which sounded like crackling and Piper stroked his nose. "Good to see you too, bud." Ventus looked us over with critical glowing yellow eyes as if to say, _Where's Jason? _Sadly venti weren't necessarily actual horses, so I couldn't understand him at all. "Jason's sick. We need your help to make him better. Do you know where the cure to the Shadow's Song is?" Piper questioned the ventus as if he would understand. Surprisingly the horse leaned down and offered the pouch around his neck. Piper chopped it off the horse's neck and hesitantly looked at it. It was small; it fit into the palm of her hand and was made of a dark brown leather.

I tried to soak up the blood on my arm by tearing off a strip of my shirt just like I'd done in Tartarus, but the blood was seeping through. It was bleeding heavily and by the looks of ut it was gauged deep into the skin. I wince as I pressed the orange fabric against the wound, but it didn't help. We didn't even pack ambrosia. Ugh, we'd been so desperate to save Jason we hadn't even been able to bring necessities such as food, water, ambrosia, and nectar. We were such idiots, but there was no turning back now.

Piper carefully opened the pouch and dumped its contents into her hand. Only a single key fell out. It was made of Stygian Iron by the looks of it, but I couldn't be sure. Piper and I stared at the key as if it were alien. "What is this supposed to-" The daughter of Aphrodite began and turned to Tempest, but the horse had disappeared as if it had never been there is the first place. I looked behind us to see the inky storm clouds that we'd just passed through. Lightning flashed inside and I was glad we were safe…for now. Leo turned back to check on us; Festus was under control he was able to relax a little.

"What is that key for, Beauty Queen?" he snorted incredulously.

"I don't know, but it will undoubtedly help us on this quest somehow." Piper replied, not taking her eyes off of the polished Stygian Iron.

"Wait a moment." Something seemed to dawn on Leo, but I wasn't sure what it was. "Gimme that." Leo snatched the key from Piper's hands and held it out to Festus.

"Don't drop it." Piper and I squeaked in unison. The key to our quest was dangling at least two thousand feet in the air. That was taller than the Empire State building and if Leo dropped it, it would be the end. Even if it was particularly useless in this situation, all of us had a hunch that it would be useful in the future.

"Festus, scan this key, please. Then take us to the door that it unlocks." Leo commanded. Piper and I turned to each other and exchanged astonished looks. The message was clear: _Festus can do this kind of stuff? _A plate on Festus' forehead slid open and a scanner popped up in its place. A red light ran over the key twice and then disappeared, the plate sliding back over his forehead. Festus creaked and squeaked and all of a sudden the metal plates that made up Festus' hide slid apart to reveal a panel that popped up in between Leo and Piper.

"Huh?" Leo gasped in utter shock. The panel had a key hole and Piper was trying to open it, but with no luck.

"Use the key!" I exclaimed and Leo gave the key back to Piper. Piper inserted it into the panel and turned it. There was an electrifying and tension-filled silence as nothing happened, but finally there was a distinct click and the panel swung open. Leo and I sucked in a breath as Piper peered inside. She didn't say anything and that just sparked more suspense in the two of us. Finally she reached down and I heard the crackle of paper as she brought the treasure out.

"There's a stash of ambrosia in there along with a pile of drachmas and a wad of Benjamins. There's also this," Piper waved a folded piece of paper in the air and continued, "Did you install this secret compartment, Leo? You did rebuild his body after all." As Piper said this Leo shook his head vigorously.

"There wasn't any room for a secret compartments; the inside of Festus is all wires, gears, tubes, and pistons." Leo exclaimed, his expression dumbfounded.

"Then how-" I never finished the sentence since piper was unfolding the slip of paper. She opened it up to reveal a map of the U.S.A, along with parts of Canada and Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. It shimmered gold in the waning sunlight. There were parts marked on it in Ancient Greek and I gladly translated it since I was the most fluent in Greek:

"It says on the top that we need to brew a healing potion called the Dziki Potion, formerly found in Medea's store and is said to be able to heal anything, even lost memories." Piper cursed as I said this. "Then all of these locations are marked on the map; Acadia National Park in Maine, Yosemite National Park in California, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Hmm, that's strange since Grover told me that all of those places are still truly Wild. Well there are four ingredients we have to collect; wolfsbane in Acadia, Aloe Vera in Yosemite, alfalfa in the Grand Canyon, and acacia in Yellowstone. How is this possible? Those plants can't grow where the maps says we should collect them from!" I scoffed.

"But remember that these places are truly Wild. These plants may have magical properties and such." Piper reminded me.

"I know, I know. But it also says we need Stygian Ice to make a vial to hold the Dziki potion since it is so potent it can melt regular glass. Nico can easily get us some of that stuff in the underworld. Then we have to take it to this old witch who the map claims is the only one who can properly make the ingredients cure besides Medea and Circe. It says her name is…Agamede. She lives in Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, in some of the hidden passages that have been left unexplored. Interesting." I snorted.

**(A/N: I'm sorry for butting in, but I am extremely proud of myself for finding Agamede with the help of Google. She actually was a 'witch' from Greek mythology who was specialized in making potions and is skilled with herbs! :D Sorry I just had to put that out there.)**

"Well, what do we need first?" Leo asked.

"It says here that the order is as shown: acacia, Aloe Vera, wolfsbane, and finally alfalfa." I replied, not tearing my eyes away from the map.

"Okey dokey then, off to Yellowstone! C'mon Festus!" Leo urged and we shot through the sky like a bullet towards our first destination.


	9. Taking Control

**(A/N) I'm just trying to squeeze in more chapters before the school year starts in five days…or at least where I live. I hope you understand that updates may be as late as just once a month, but then I will speed back up when next summer rolls around. This will be the last time I update two chapters at once in a long time. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Eight: Taking Control

**Nico POV**

Jason glared at me through the bars of his cage, fiddling with a spoon that came with the bowl of soup for dinner that evening. He hadn't lost any more limbs or body parts, thank the gods, but he began to develop aggressive tenancies. He'd snarl and growl at anyone who so much as stepped foot into the room. He spat at anyone who came too close and he would try to attack the food tray when it was delivered to him. Sadly, that night we'd given up on trying to feed him; he didn't eat anything and now there was a whole bunch of stale crackers, rotting fruit, and spoiled milk. He wouldn't be receiving any more food from that point on. It smelled God awful.

"Go away." Jason hissed and pressed is forehead in between two bars as if he could possibly squeeze his head through. He wouldn't put that stupid silver spoon down; he'd been toying with it all day. Yes, I have assumed the job of full-time guard over Jason until Percy comes back. I was able to steal quick naps here and there, but gods was I sleep deprived and cranky. I was tired of sitting in this room all day; I couldn't take my eyes off of Jason for even a second and meals were delivered to me from the dining pavilion. It's like watching all of the seasons of a show on Netflix and then when you watch the new episodes you sort of get bored of it. I was watching the Crazy-Freaky-Ass-Diseased-Jason Show 24/7, and it was not fun at all.

The highlight of the week had been when Jason had eaten an entire hamburger. Everyone had been cheering and congratulating him; we'd thought he'd been getting better. Then Jason threw it all up because his stomach had shrunk drastically during his time of not eating. They say that a person can only go three weeks without food before starving to death and can go three to five days without water. Jason hadn't been eating or drinking for a month.

How could Jason possibly be doing this? He was human; he needed sustenance. Was this disease feeding him in a sort of way? He didn't even feel pain at all. Jason was now bone-thin and his bones were defined. I could literally count all of his ribs from where I stood, and I was at least three yards away. Jason was literally skin pulled over sticks. The forty days had passed and right on day forty was when Jason began to develop his hostility. The green veins covered him entirely now; they spiraled up his arms in spider webs of a sickly mold color, racing up his neck and around his face. I knew it was over. Jason couldn't be saved if he went on like this. _Percy, Piper, Leo! Hurry up! _I pleaded silently.

"No." I replied calmly. "You need to be watched."

"Jason doesn't need watching. Jason is not a baby. Get out. Now." He snapped.

"I can't." I tell him simply. Jason roared with outrage and clawed at his face in exasperation. He flung himself against the bars, each attempt to bust them down resulting in a loud clatter.

"Go to the bathroom or something." Jason snarled. "Just go away. Leave Jason alone with the shadows. They don't like it when you're here."

"Fine. Tell the shadows that they have to deal with it; I'll be back in five minutes tops." I snorted and walked out, my hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of my aviator's jacket.

I swear I heard him mutter, "Five minutes is all Jason needs." I shrugged it off; it was probably just my imagination. Besides, what could he possibly do in that cage? Throw a plate at me through the bars? I chuckled to myself at that one. Camp had been completely and totally fun-less ever since Jason began to become too violent to visit. Before, when he was just insane and not dangerous, people would visit him and talk to him about their day and stuff, but mostly to check up on him and tell him to get better soon. Jason would listen intently, but his mind was obviously somewhere else. I honestly swore I heard Jason mutter that and it was killing me. I hurried into the bathroom and tried to piss as fast as possible. Who knew what Jason could do in five minutes?

-Ω-

**(Warning: Gory and disgusting material ahead)**

I ran down the hallway as fast as I could, literally crashing into the room where Jason was; I tripped and fell on my face going through the door. Groaning, I shakily stood up and rubbed my cheek; there was going to be an awful bruise there in the morning. I looked up to see Jason with his back turned to me, mumbling to himself. He did not growl or snarl; he didn't even acknowledge me.

"Jason?" I asked shakily. He didn't respond; he only continued the conversation he was having with himself. "_Jason._" I said, this time more sternly.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!?" Jason howled and whirled around. I nearly fainted; Jason only had one eye. The cord that connected his eye to the rest of him was hanging out of a bloody and mangled socket. Blood was everywhere; on the floor, on the bars, on the bed, and Jason was covered head-to-toe. I began to walk towards him when I felt something squish and pop under my foot.

_Oh gods, no. _I thought and lifted my foot up. Blood was spattered everywhere and Jason's eye was at the center of it, looking a lot like a deflated balloon. I ran to the corner and unceremoniously threw up, emptying my stomach until I was dry heaving. I was so dizzy and disgusted; I stumbled around, clutching my head and my stomach. Jason began to cackle maniacally, waving a bloody spoon in his hand.

Jason had gauged his eye out with the spoon that he'd been holding. I began to dry heave again, the entire situation overwhelming everything. I was consumed by sickness and fear and spots danced in front of my eyes. I collapsed onto my side and the last thing I heard was Jason's wicked chuckling.

"Jason." I murmured, a single tear trickling down my cheek. Then everything went black.

-Ω-

**Jason POV (the real Jason)**

_No! I was trapped inside this wretched body as the disease slowly took over; eating away at my mind and replacing me with this totally new mental asylum patient. The only problem was that the person that the disease made and I were not the same person. It was as if it were a parasite of some sort. I remembered the first day it visited. _

_It had been fairly weak; only existing in a small part of my subconscious. It would visit me every night in my dreams and always ask me if it could take control. It promised me that it would take good care of my body and other stuff like that. I declined; I knew what was happening to me and I wouldn't allow myself to be run by this…thing. _

_ "__Hello, Jason. How are you?" it asked. It didn't look maniacal. It seemed human; a man in his mid-forties with a cleanly shaved head and a fair skin tone. He was always dressed in black, like a widow or a mourner. I'd begun calling it Shadow; it was sort-of the physical form of the Shadow's Song, so why not? _

_ "__I'm doing horrible, Shadow. It hurts. Can you, like, get out of my head? Leave me alone? My life has been hard enough and I don't need the Shadow's Song jacking my brain up." I snapped. Its face darkened. We were currently meeting in my subconscious; a maze of hallways and doors that led to memories, fears, and even character traits. We were sitting in my memory of the praetor's room back at Camp Jupiter. I'd always preferred to hang around there. _

_ "__Jason. It can stop hurting if you allow me-" I didn't let it finish. I held a hand up and it silenced. _

_ "__No. How many times do I have to tell you? No! I don't want you here. Get out of my head." I hissed. All of a sudden its face, which was usually a mask of calm, turned hostile. It bared its teeth at me, revealing fangs that could slice flesh into ribbons. It had a wild gleam in its onyx-black eyes. As soon as it started, it stopped. _

_ "__Very well, Jason. But this is my job. Next time we meet, I will be taking you by force." And with that, it melted into the shadows. That day I'd had an encounter with Leo in the bathroom. The poor guy looked so terrified, as if I was a monster of some sort. I didn't care; all I wanted was for Shadow to get out. He'd been feeding me dark thoughts about all the people I love dying and I was slowly being driven crazy. _

_As soon as I fell asleep that night and appeared in my subconscious, I was pounced on. A heavy weight slammed into me and sent me sprawling, pinning me to the ground. Shadow. It punched me over and over, even hitting me and backhanding me across the face. I screamed and went limp as deep, black, ugly bruises began to form on my arms, legs, chest, and face. Shadow dragged me through my subconscious, taking rights and lefts and venturing even deeper than I'd ever gone. Finally it came to a door. Cold air radiated from it and malice pulsed out in waves. I began to tremble. What was Shadow going to do to me?_

_It forced me to my feet and shoved me down a winding stone staircase. The walls were cobblestone and our footsteps echoed as we descended. Whenever I lagged behind, Shadow would shove me forward and more than once did I fall down a few flights. I was bloody, beaten, battered, and cold. What else could possibly go wrong? Everything that I'd feared came to life. _

_Shadow and I finally reached the end of the steps, only to be met by a single and very small cell. That was it, a cell; the stairs didn't lead anywhere else except back the way we came. I realized all too late what it was going to do. Shadow opened the door and shoved me inside, tackling me to the ground with inhuman strength. In an instant I was chained to the wall, gagged, blindfolded and my shirt was off to the side somewhere. The cold chains stung my wrists and caused them to go numb, but not numb enough to take away the agonizing pain. The frigid air clawed at my bare chest and arms and I tried to curl up to get warmer, but the chains were short and restricted me from doing mostly everything. _

_Then a something, a knife blade from what I knew that was as cold as ice, pressed against my chest. The cold seeped into my bones and seemed to paralyze me. Shadow ran its blade up and down my chest and arms, leaving no portion of skin untouched. Sometimes it purposely cut me and blood was beginning to drip down. Everywhere the blade skimmed became cold and I swore I was freezing to death, but I wasn't. You know how people who freeze to death go to sleep and never wake up? Well I was wide awake; not feeling at all sleepy. Too bad all I could see was white fabric. _

_ "__Let me go, Shadow!" I cried, but through the gag it sounded like, "MMMMFFFFFFFF!" I struggled in my bonds, causing them to rattle as I twisted and squirmed. The knife touched me again, this time digging right above my heart, which was hammering in my chest as if it wanted to jump out and run away. _

_ "__Let's not be feisty now, Jason." Shadow laughed maniacally, digging the blade in deeper. I yelped, but it was smothered by the fabric. Shadow leaned in. _

_ "__I'm in charge now. Do you hear me?" it growled. I screamed and writhed in my chains. They showed no mercy and pretty soon my wrists and ankles were bleeding heavily from struggling. I couldn't see. I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. Everything was being taken away from me. "Stop squirming." Shadow ordered and all of a sudden it was as if the chill in my bones had a mind of its own. All movement stopped. Shadow laughed pettily, the laugh of a maniac. "I want everything from you."_

_"__You've already taken everything! Just leave me alone! You've had your fun toying with me, now just leave me in peace! Please!" I wailed. _

_"__MMMMMFFFFFFFF!" was all Shadow heard. _

_"__Forget everything; all I want is your joy. Once that's gone, your life will fall apart and I won't need to take everything to make you obey me." Shadow growled menacingly. _

_"__MMMFFF? MMMMFFF!" _

_All of a sudden there was an agonizing wrench in my head. It was if all the life, all the energy, all of the good memories, all of the…happiness was being sucked out of my soul. I screamed in agony and I felt as if every monster I've ever killed were slowly tearing me to shreds. Shadow removed the blindfold and I saw it holding a ball of something that was glowing yellow. My joy._

_I struggled in my bonds; I wanted it back. Shadow couldn't just take my joy away from me. All of a sudden Shadow made a fist and it dispersed into nothingness. I screamed against the gag, tears streaming down my face. I couldn't control it; the tears just came down in waterfalls. All of the sadness and depression in my life came crashing down on top of me. I struggled and thrashed, but it was no use. _

What's the point of fighting? It's not like you have any joy left. _A voice whispered to me. _

Make it easier for yourself. Stop holding on to what little you have left. Let go. _Another added. All of my bad memories returned to me as I sunk deeper and deeper into depression. I went limp in my chains, but sounds of pure misery still escaped me and I was shaking so hard my chains rattled. _

_"__That's better." Shadow sneered as my voice finally died. He placed a hand on my chest and trailed his fingers up my neck and onto my cheek. I didn't thrash. I didn't fight. I just let him. _

There's nothing to live for.

Life's not worth living.

Let him take control. It's not like it matters anyway.

You are a shell of what you once were. You're cowardly. You've failed your friends.

_The voices chanted words of discouragement in my mind and I sunk even deeper into depression. _

_"__Failed." I murmured into the gag. Another tear trickled down my cheek. _

Give up.

Give up.

Give up.

_"__Give up." I murmured. _

_"__Have you made your decision, Mr. Grace?" Shadow asked wickedly. I bent my head and said nothing. The message was clear, though: Take me. With that, it placed its hand on my forehead and I was no longer Jason Grace, son of Jupiter. I was just a worthless little puppet for Shadow to toy with._

_I looked up to see that Shadow had changed; it'd become younger, about seventeen. Its baldness had been replaced by a head of blonde hair. Its black eyes now shined an icy blue. It was wearing a Camp Jupiter T-shirt and torn jeans and a little scar was visible on its upper lip. Shadow was me now. The disease had taken over._


	10. Acacia

**(A/N) I hope I didn't make any of you throw up or anything, but this is a horror story. Don't worry, that was probably the most disgusting thing that is going to happen. No more grossness. I swear it on the Styx. *thunder rumbles overhead* AW COME ON. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Nine: Acacia

**Piper POV**

"We have to hurry! Jason is suffering. I can feel it." I called to Leo, putting extra charmspeak into my voice for good measure.

"I'm going as fast as I can, Beauty Queen!" Leo snapped in reply, but his voice was sort of robotic; the effects of the charmspeak.

"When are we going to get there?" Percy called over the roaring of the wind. It had been at least twelve hours since our encounter with Tempest and the other venti and we were already halfway across the country, but I knew that Percy was just as worried as I was; Percy had sent an IM to Nico, telling him to collect the Stygian Ice, but the reply was something that none of us wanted to hear:

_"__The Stygian Ice will be no problem, Perce, but Jason-how should I say this?-kind of…GAUGEDHISEYEBALLOUTWITHASPOON." Nico had said so quickly that we'd asked him to repeat. The son of Hades took a deep breath and started again. "Jason has been showing violent tenancies ever since he passed the forty-day mark. He growls and snarls at people, he still isn't eating, and his temper is out of control. Just a few minutes before you sent an IM to me…he…gauged his eyeball out with a spoon." The three of us had cringed and Leo had spurred Festus into maximum speed, which nearly ripped our faces off, so he slowed it to 'almost maximum speed.'_

I was so lost in my own thoughts I nearly missed Leo's whoop of joy, "THERE IT IS; YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, BABY! MAGIC ACACIA, HERE WE COME!" We soared through the sky, passing packs of wolves who were running in perfect formation and herds of bison that were grazing in the rolling fields. Birds glided lazily alongside us as if a giant metal dragon was the most natural thing in the world. It was completely and totally beautiful. We'd passed Old Faithful and a few other geysers when Percy asked the dreaded question that we'd all had on our minds the minute we passed into Yellowstone.

"Umm…this is so big. Where to we start?" At this, Leo whistled and shook his head sadly.

"Didn't think of that one." He snorted and smoothly and expertly landed Festus in a particularly remote area of the park where no one was.

"Well Yellowstone is a super volcano. Maybe we can find the acacia in some of the lava chambers." I suggested. Leo and Percy laughed at this as if they were best buds sharing an inside joke. I knew that Percy and Leo didn't hang out enough to have any inside jokes that other people didn't know.

"Listen, Piper. I'm the son of Poseidon, so I don't burn easily and Leo doesn't even burn at all." Percy began. His tone sounded rather soothing, as if he were talking to a cornered animal. That did not help the slightest bit.

"Your point?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Percy took a deep breath, preparing to break the bad news to me. Seriously; we already had so much balancing on our shoulders. We didn't need another setback or worry.

"My point is that it's impossible for you and me to go into those lava chambers. Leo has to do it by himself." The two of us turned to Leo and the son of Hephaestus shrugged, stroking Festus' nose and not really paying attention to the conversation.

"But Percy, we have to do this together. We can't risk splitting up. We're a team." I argued and crossed my arms. Percy's eyes glazed for a moment and I realized that I'd accidentally charmspoken him. I hated when I did that; I had to train to get my charmspeak under control when we get back to Camp Half-Blood. Percy, though, was very powerful and very immune to charmspeak, so he just shook it off.

"Do you want to risk burning to death?" he scoffed. "I mean, we don't even know where the entrances to the lava chambers are."

"Such the eternal optimist." Leo scoffed and nonchalantly pressed a button that had been hidden behind Festus' ear. The dragon immediately charged off; barging through trees and causing nymphs to retreat in terror whilst cursing in ancient Greek about a stupid metal dragon. The three of us didn't hesitate; we followed him. It was very hard to keep up with a huge dragon, but he was made of Celestial Bronze and was very shiny, which also added to the fact that he was gigantic and made a cacophony wherever he went, so it really wasn't that difficult to lose him.

Finally, Festus emerged into a clearing. He stomped around and blew smoke out of his nose, his metal tail lashing back and forth. He pawed at the ground and pointed with his nose. The dragon creaked and squeaked something and Leo grinned.

"Guys, it looks like we've found ourselves a lava chamber." Leo said, grinning.

-Ω-

**Leo POV**

It turns out that there really wasn't an entrance to a lava chamber here; there _was _a lava chamber underneath us, but there was no way to access it. I prepared myself for the trip into a chamber full of molten rock that could melt any regular human on contact. Luckily, Mr. Bad Boy Supreme Valdez isn't a normal human. Our plan was simple; we have Festus dig out the lava chamber, which would be easy for him with his huge size, long claws that even had drill modes on them, and his whirring teeth. Piper and Percy stood watch for any suspecting mortals or park rangers. There was nothing.

I had to admit, I was scared. I knew that I was immune to fire and heat, but lava? I'd never really tried that before. Damn, if I'd just been risky on the rock-climbing wall I would've had an answer to my questions and even had a reason not to be anxious.

After an hour of digging, Festus clambered to the surface. I touched his metal hide and realized how hot it was. Of course, Festus was always hot from all his gears, wires, and pistons working, but this was like an extreme hot. If Piper or Percy touched him, they'd certainly get third-degree burns. That meant that he'd been close to an immense heat source; the lava chamber. Of course the heat didn't bother me, but I was still worried out of my mind.

I stared nervously at the hole Festus had dug. A huge mound of earth was next to it; a mound so big it could've been considered a small mountain. _What if the acacia wasn't down there? What if all of this had been a waste of time?_ I shoved the negative thoughts away; this was our best chance.

I hugged Percy and Piper and bid them farewell, of course I meant to see them later when I came back with the acacia, but there was always that one voice inside of you that thought pessimistically. I took a deep breath, popping a breath mint into my mouth for good luck, and began my trek down.

It was very steep and I knew it would be difficult to walk back up. I kept walking and walking, going farther and farther down. As I walked, anticipation gnawed at my stomach, along with fear, anxiety, curiosity, and hope. I thought of Jason and how he was becoming even more insane at the very moment, and that gave me even more of a drive. Jason was my best friend. I wouldn't let him die from a stupid disease. Not now, not ever. Just thinking about him; his hair in bloody and matted clumps on the floor, his one eye, his eight fingers, and his maniacal smile, laugh, and gleam in his eyes made chills race up and down my spine. I couldn't believe a disease could do that to a person; twist and contort them into less than an animal.

After a while I felt the air begin to heat up. I began to feel queasy and lightheaded for some reason. It became hotter and hotter to the point where I knew any mortal who was not properly prepared would've been fried. The heat was only a tingling sensation to me, though. I had no idea how far I'd been walking and it had gone pitch-black a while back. I had no light and I only had the earthen walls of the tunnel to guide me. I summoned a flashlight from my tool belt and immediately it overheated and the battery melted. Crap. I put the flashlight back into my tool belt and reluctantly continued on in darkness. I hated not being able to see; it made me feel exposed to attack. I hated stumbling around blindly when monsters could be lurking in every shadow…not that anything would be down here. Knock on wood.

Finally I began to see a light up ahead. I walked towards it, entranced. It was like how flies were attracted to honey. I was drawn to it, like a moth to a light. I sped up my pace and pretty soon I was sprinting towards it. The light got brighter and brighter. Pretty soon it became blinding and I gasped, shielding my face with my hands as the light grew even brighter. It stung my eyes, even when I closed them. I was getting extremely dizzy for some reason, and I knew it wasn't because of the light.

_Please have them here. _I thought desperately as I rummaged through my tool belt, my eyes screwed shut but still being blinded by the radiance. I finally drew out a pair of sunglasses, but not just any sunglasses: Celestial Bronze sunglasses. They didn't melt like a normal pair of glasses would in this intense heat and I could finally see without my corneas being fried. I stalked towards the source of the bright light and intense heat; the lava chamber. My sunglasses were extra tinted, yet I knew my tool belt would be on cool-down. That sucked.

The tunnel widened until I was standing at the edge of a large chasm. Below me lava bubbled and exploded into fiery geysers of hellish liquid. It was an orange-yellow color, with dots of red here and there for the cooler parts of it. Where more lava bubbled out from deep in the Earth's crust, there was white-hot lava that shined brighter than anything else.

I sucked in a breath, and it felt like I was inhaling pure heat. Uh-oh. I struggled for oxygen, but found none. I was such an idiot for not thinking about it sooner; there isn't enough oxygen for breathing down in a lava chamber. Black spots began to form before my eyes and I struggled to hold onto my consciousness, though it was a losing battle. I collapsed onto my side, lungs screaming bloody murder and then everything went black.

-Ω-

"How is he possibly alive? The heat should've killed him by now." A meek and petty voice chirped.

"I'm not sure." replied another voice, which sounded a lot like the first only slightly lower.

"I think we should-wait his eyelids are moving!" Gentle hands shook me awake and some water was drizzled into my mouth. I gulped it up, realizing how parched I was. I sat up on a bed of rock, which wasn't very comfortable. I looked around to see three young girls. Their skin was a variety of warm colors; orange, yellow, red, and all the colors in between. Their hair were masses of fire that flickered and danced across their scalps, much like an empousa's. But these weren't empousai; they didn't have fangs or porcelain-white skin. In fact, they looked a lot like Flame Princess from Adventure Time.

"Who are you?" I asked, baffled. I realized that we were in a sort of alcove that had been cleaved into the chamber's wall, so that the right wall of the tiny room was open to the churning lava. How was I breathing right now? I had yet to find out.

"I am Burn." said one girl, obviously the oldest by the way she spoke; with authority. She had been the one to answer the other girl's question.

"I am Blister." said another. Her voice was high and peppy, like the voice of a girl who hadn't hit puberty yet. She was most likely the youngest.

"I am Blaze." said the last. She was the middle child by the looks of it; the one who asked how I hadn't burned.

"I'm Leo, Leo Valdez." I told them nervously. You couldn't really trust anyone who randomly helped you and saved your miserable life at first until you got to know them a little. "Um…what are you? No offence." The oldest, Burn, chuckled.

"We are the nymphs of this chamber." She told me. Her voice sounded like crackling fire and her eyes were alight with dancing flames. She looked smoking hot. No pun intended.

"Wait…lava can have a nymph's life force attached to it?" I asked quizzically. This was new, and I supposed that these nymphs were pretty legit, so I let my guard down a little bit.

"Yes, Leo. And how are you not burning?" Blaze asked again curiously, tilting her head to the side. She wore a red robe that was embroidered with gold, as did her sisters. She looked like a queen in them; the queen of fiery hell.

"I'm a son of Hephaestus; a fire-user." I replied sheepishly and scratched the back of my head self-consciously. I was glad the orange-yellow light of the lava was hiding how much I was blushing. The nymphs raised their eyebrows in completely perfect unison. I nearly chuckled, but I knew that now was not the time.

"And what brings you down here?" Blister squeaked, her smile broadening. She looked so cute in that little-kid-who-gives-you-puppy-dog-eyes kind of way.

"My friend…he's sick. Very sick. He's…" I got choked up and tears threatened to fall, but I blinked them away, "…dying. Me and my two other friends who are waiting up on the surface are searching for a cure. Right now I'm looking for acacia. It's supposed to be magic and able to grow anywhere."

Burn's face softened with sympathy. "I feel sorry for you, Leo. But luckily you're in the right place." The nymph pointed across the cavern, where another, shallower alcove was carved into the dirt and rock. In it sprouted a plant with little yellow puffs for flowers. It seemed to be thriving, even down here where plants weren't supposed to be able to grow. It sparkled and that's how I knew it was magic. Only Edward Cullen could sparkle like that. That flower was the plant I was looking for; that was the acacia. I turned to the nymphs.

"How am I still breathing?" I asked.

"Burn is the actual nymph of the lava. That's why she's the oldest." Blaze explained. "Blister is the nymph of the heat the lava generates and I'm the nymph of the light it gives off. Since Blister can control the heat, she put you in a bubble that prevents you from breathing in pure heat and gives you oxygen." My eyes widened. It was just like when Hazel, Frank, and I visited Camp Fish-Blood and we had those bubbles of air around us.

"You mean that nymphs can attach themselves to something other than actual objects and living things?" I said incredulously. Burn, Blister, and Blaze nodded.

"You must hurry, to save your friend. Get to that acacia, but only take a few flowers, don't take the entire plant; it's what makes Yellowstone truly Wild." Burn warned. I nodded. I got off of my rock bed and stepped towards the edge of the alcove. This was it. It was either now or never. I looked back at the three nymphs who were looking at me expectantly with eyes of fire.

"Thank you." I say sincerely. They smiled.

"You're welcome. I hope you can heal your friend." Blister replied cheerfully. I grinned and ran my hand through my curly brown hair, taking deep breaths. This was it. It was time to face the challenge laid out before me.

_I jump on three. _I thought bravely.

_One. _I braced myself; feet apart, knees bent, eyes forward.

_Two. _I bunched my muscles and prepared myself.

_Three. _I jumped.

The scenery whipped by as I plummeted down to the lava below. It came rushing towards me I had no time to react when I hit the surface. I was underwater…or at least…under lava. I couldn't breathe. Blister's bubble didn't work when I was swimming in molten rock. The good part was that I wasn't dead or incinerated; I only felt an intense case of pins and needles all over. I broke to the surface, gasping. I looked up to see the acacia way overhead. How was I possibly going to get all the way up there? I touched my Celestial Bronze sunglasses, just to make sure that they were not melted and still there. I began to paddle towards the opposite wall, each stroke as if I was running through quicksand. This must be how it felt to be in one of Kronos' time-thingamajigs. It sure was frustrating.

A lava fountain exploded next to me and I was shot into the air, the pins and needles becoming unbearable. When I fell back into the lava and resurfaced again, I was still determined. My face was beaded with sweat and my clothes were smoking.

_Please don't burn your only clothes._

_Please don't burn your only clothes._

_You don't want to be naked for the rest of this quest. _

I willed my clothes to not burn, and that was extremely difficult to do when I was trying to swim in lava at the same time. After what seemed like forever, I finally reached the opposite wall. I clung to it and tried to climb up, but it was sheer and I couldn't so much as get a foothold. I struggled desperately; I had to get the acacia! I had to do it for Jason! Then I saw a geyser explode a few feet away from me. Light bulb. I strategically placed myself so that the lava geyser would explode right under me.

While I was struggling to keep my head above the surface, I felt the heat building up under me like a newborn storm. The pressure built and built until it couldn't hold anymore; it exploded with the sound of a bomb detonating. I let out a whoop as I soared through the air and managing to snag the edge of the alcove the acacia was growing in. I plucked a few flowers off of it and tucked them into my tool belt. I smiled. One plant down. Four to go.

-Ω-

**Percy POV**

"Leo!" Piper and I yelled in unison as the son of Hephaestus came strolling out of the tunnel. We had been waiting anxiously for him to return for two hours now. It was a huge burden off of my shoulders to see him alright. His clothes were riddled with smoking holes and his hair was even messier than usual. His eyes were hidden behind…were those tinted Celestial Bronze glasses? Well he did have to shield his eyes from the light somehow. Leo took off the glasses when he saw us staring and tucked them into one of the pockets of his tool belt.

"The acacia is safe." He said with a wide grin. His brown eyes sparkled despite the fact that he looked like a hobo. Festus clanked and whirred, nudging Leo with his nose. "Aww, missed you too, buddy. All right what's the next ingredient we have to go find?" Piper opened the map.

"It says here we have to find Aloe Vera in Yosemite." She announced.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Leo asked incredulously, his eyes shining with mischief. "Let's go find that plant!"


	11. Giving Up

**(A/N) Again; I'm trying to squeeze in as much chapters as possible before school starts, so please excuse me if this seems a little rushed. I've decided to start putting Jason's POV in here every once in a while. I had not intended to make it so that the Shadow's Song forcibly took Jason over, but the idea was cool so just roll with me. Though the beginning of this chapter will not be in Jason's POV, expect it to happen more often. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. At all. **

Chapter Ten: Giving up

**Percy POV**

I had passed out on Festus' back after the long day of finding the acacia. I was dog tired and Leo had promise Piper and I that we wouldn't fall off if we crashed. I had protested; Leo needed a guard to help him just in case monsters attacked, but he'd insisted. Besides; if I was tired I wouldn't be able to fight my best in the morning. I'd almost wished I hadn't fallen asleep; demigod dreams were usually horrible and torturous, but this one was even more so.

_I was in a huge building…or at least I thought I was. Hallways twisted and turned in every direction and doors were set at five-foot intervals. Where was I? A hotel of some sort? All of a sudden a man materialized next to me. He was wearing a black suit and it was more than likely that he was in his forties. _

_He looked like an assassin of some sort, straight from the movies. His eyes were black as night, shining with an evil and somehow…crazy light. Not good. He also had a cleanly shaved head and his baldness complimented the fact that he looked like a freaking hitman. He adjusted his tie, a sly and creepy smile on his face; the smile of someone who was keeping a secret. He didn't seem to notice me, then again nobody usually did; this was a dream. Then the impossible happened. _

_The man morphed and changed, becoming shorter and more muscular. His suit was replaced by a Camp Jupiter T-shirt and torn jeans and messy blonde hair sprouted from his head. He seemed at least twenty-three years younger and his black eyes turned ice blue. Not-Jason smoothed back his hair and brushed himself off, looking smug. Who was this guy? And why did he look like Jason? The man walked down one of the hallways. The only thing left to do was follow him. I drifted behind him in my invisible, weightless form. He took rights and lefts through the zigzagging maze of hallways that were all painted a bland white color. The sound of his footsteps echoing on the white tile filled the entire building; for not another noise could be heard. _

How big is this building? _I thought incredulously. _And how come we're the only ones in it? It's too huge to be any building I've ever heard of. Is it obscured by the Mist; a godly house of some sort? _No. This guy wasn't a god; he didn't have an aura of power, but he did radiate pure evil and…was that craziness? Who the hell was this guy? The god of insanity? Not-Jason stopped in front of an iron door. It was made entirely out of metal and screamed prison. Was this a mental asylum? And if so, where were all the other patients? Cold air wafted from under the door and made me shiver, but not from the cold; this was a dream and I couldn't feel cold. It was from the reek of malice and horror. This was trouble, but I followed Not-Jason down anyway. _

_The door had hidden a spiraling cobblestone staircase with walls and ceiling to match. The cold feeling became even more intense as we walked downward for what seemed like forever. Not-Jason was smiling wickedly to himself, like someone who understood an inside joke that their friend made. I didn't like the looks of that sort of crooked smile. It screamed insanity. Finally we came to a door. It was iron like the other door, but instead of giving of terror and fear, it gave off a sort of sadness; like someone who was suffering. Uh-oh. I had a feeling where this was going, and it wasn't good. _

_Not-Jason took out some keys and began to fiddle with them, taking his time. He tested several keys, but none of them unlocked the door. Finally he inserted a black key made of Stygian Iron, much like the key that opened Festus' secret compartment, and the door opened with a subtle click. Not-Jason threw the door open, evidently wanting to make his presence clear. That's when I realized that the two of us weren't the only ones in the 'building.' There was someone else. That's when I saw him. Shackled to the wall in thick chains, looking beaten, bruised and bloody, was Jason._

_He was shirtless and had no socks on, his skin chalky and pale from the cold. He was limp and his wrists and ankles were bloody, probably from struggling against the chains. He was looking straight ahead; his eyes, once bright and lively, were a dull blue. He was gagged, but that didn't muffle his shaky and shallow breathing. You could see every one of his ribs and he just looked so miserable I wanted to run over and hug him, but my feet were anchored in place. _

_Not-Jason strode over to him leisurely, boasting the fact that he was well-fed and hadn't a worry in the world. Jason looked up and a tear trickled down his cheek. He turned away as Not-Jason came face-to-face with him, more tears finding their way down his face. His captor removed the gag, revealing chapped, thin lips and the little scar that I'd gotten used to seeing. Jason tried to shy away from him, causing the chains to rattle. What happened to him? _

_The Jason I knew would be thrashing and writhing, screaming for vengeance and spouting curses at this doppelganger. This Jason was silent and he was still limp in his chains, not even bothering to struggle. His eyes were filled with such hopelessness and depression and they just looked…lifeless, as if something had sucked all of the joy out of him. At first I was afraid that he was dead and the sound of shallow breathing was just the wind, but Jason's shifting and blinking suggested otherwise. _

_ "__Shadow." Jason managed to choke, his voice hoarse. Not-Jason, or should I say Shadow, chuckled; a hollow, petty sound that reminded me all too much of the Jason that was back at Camp Half-Blood, going more crazy by the second. Was this place really where Jason was? Was the insane Jason back home not the actual Jason? The real Jason was undoubtedly being held hostage by Shadow, but why wasn't he fighting to escape? All of these questions rattled in my head as Shadow stalked over to Jason, still smiling like a maniac. _

_ "__How rude of you. No hi's or hello's? Just a bland 'Shadow'? Really now; we live in the same body; you can at least act like you're happy to see me. Then again I took everything away from you." Shadow cackled. What the hell was going on? What did Shadow mean by 'living in the same body'? _

_Then it dawned on me. Jason wasn't actually okay; he wasn't a hostage off somewhere. He was kept prisoner in his own head. Shadow was the insane, aggressive Jason back at Camp Half-Blood; he…or should I say it…was the manifestation of the Shadow's Song. The real Jason, the heroic, optimistic Jason was trapped; the Shadow's Song had taken over. But why would Jason go down without a fight? Did he even try to fight for his body? _

_Jason looked away and shifted uncomfortably as Shadow touched his face lightly and gently, with just its fingertips. _

_ "__Losing your dignity, eh Grace?" Shadow sneered, its hand still on Jason's face. _

_ "__Well I am naked in front of a possible mental asylum patient." was the quiet reply. I was astonished of how broken Jason's voice sounded. What had Shadow done to him? Shadow's face contorted in rage and it backhanded Jason across the face. Jason whimpered but didn't even try to fight back, his cheek turning an ugly purple color. Shadow smiled its wicked smile. _

_ "__Aw, Jason. I know you love me." He mocked and kissed, he actually kissed, Jason on the cheek that was bruised, causing my friend to yelp. _

_ "__Stop. Please." Jason protested meekly. Another tear slid down his face, but I knew it wasn't from the fact that Shadow had slapped him. _

_ "__Aw, is the heroic son of Jupiter scared of a little kiss?" Shadow teased. Jason didn't reply, only hung his head. I wanted to scream to him; I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be okay, that we were finding a cure for him and that Shadow would be gone. I wanted to run over and hug him tightly, for him to be comforted. I couldn't stand seeing Jason in this tortured, pitiful state. _

_My voice wouldn't work and my feet were glued to the floor. I could only watch as Shadow continued to torment Jason with blows to the face and taunting. This was probably the worst dream I'd ever had. _

I woke up screaming, "JASON!" I was trembling all over and tears streaked down my face uncontrollably.

"Percy! Perce, what's wrong?" Leo exclaimed worriedly. Piper was still passed out, but she stirred a little in her sleep, mumbling about her boyfriend and how hot he was. I was still shaking and I wiped at my eyes furiously.

"It's Jason...he's…it's hard to explain, but-" And I told him the entire story as we glided through the sky towards our next destination.

-Ω-

**Jason POV**

_I looked up at my tormentor; Shadow was staring at me with a wicked gleam in its blue eyes. I was just too tortured to even care anymore. I was cold, starving, thirsty, and everything hurt and ached; my face, my wrists, my ankles. The pain was just unbearable, but nothing was worse than the burning humiliation and shame of being naked in front of my captor. The disgrace was just awful. _

What kind of person are you? Are you not embarrassed by this?

Be ashamed of yourself, nobody is as dishonorable as you are.

Do you feel no indignity? You're a worthless piece of trash that belongs on a stripper pole.

_The depressing words of the voices that always lurked inside my head whispered words of despair into my ears. The comments rattled inside my skull and the burning shame increased. Tears trickled down steadily and I couldn't control it at all. This was torture. _

_I hung limply in my chains; the things that restrained me and seemed to be unbreakable. They were as cold as ice and the wounds on my wrists and ankles were still bleeding heavily as the icy air clawed at my skin, making the chill in my bones become even more intense. _

_ "__I control you, Jason Grace. Isn't that right?" it asked, its crooked smile contorting into a sneer. I didn't reply, only looked away. All of a sudden Shadow lunged at me, grabbing my chin and tilting it up so that I was looking it in the eyes. "I asked you a question. Answer it." It growled coldly. I didn't respond and tried to divert my gaze from Shadow's. It snarled and began to dig his fingernails into my skin. "Answer the question." I didn't. I tensed when Shadow drew away from me, preparing myself for a stinging slap, but it never came._

_ "__It seems like I have to demonstrate my excellent puppeteer skills to get a response." It said with a smile. I cringed and began to tremble, causing the chains to rattle and clatter. What was he going to do to me? I was already tormented enough; I didn't want anything added on top of that. That's when an intense chill ran through my bones, paralyzing me. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. All I could do was blink._

_Shadow stalked over, taking its Camp Jupiter shirt off and fanning itself with its hand. "Is it hot in here or is it just you?" it asked me. My eyes widened as I saw his chiseled chest; six pack and all. Was that how I looked like? I would've begun thrashing if it wasn't for the iciness that stopped me. Shadow looked me over head-to-toe. The shame burned me, filling my head with voices saying how I was such a disgrace. My cheeks reddened. _

_Shadow smirked when he saw my discomfort and embarrassment. "You look good." That was a pickup line. I was sure of it. No! Was Shadow even gay? Not that it was a problem at all; I have nothing against people like Nico, but in this situation I thought it was. This wasn't happening. I couldn't even scream as he touched my face. His fingers were gentle and his touch was light. I almost relaxed, but I wouldn't allow it. _

_ "__Watch this." Shadow snickered and he grabbed my shoulders, pulling us together. Our lips met. I screamed in my head. I tried to thrash and squirm, even bite him, but the coldness in my bones prevented that. Shadow unchained my hands and a sliver of hope wriggled its way into my head. Was I being freed? But that hope was crushed when he forced me into the kiss again, not bothering to unchain my feet. I wanted to slap him; I could do that now with my hands free, but I couldn't I just stood rigid. All of a sudden the voices that had always been bringing me down were now telling me how I felt:_

You want more. _They whispered. _

No! I don't! Stop! _I screamed in my head as my arms, out of my control and moving as if someone else was moving them, wrapped around Shadow's waist and pulled it closer to me. It smiled around my lips. The kiss deepened and he pushed against me, pinning me against the wall and wrapping his arms around my neck. _

Stop! Please! _I screeched. _

More. More. More. _The voices chanted. I sobbed inwardly as my hands entangled themselves in Shadow's blonde hair. I tried to squirm away; bite him, punch him, do whatever it takes to get him off of me. But my hands acted without my command and pushed Shadow closer. I wailed inside and a tear trickled down my cheek; the only sign that I wasn't controlling myself. That's when I realized that only Shadow's jeans and underwear were keeping us apart. Oh no. _

No more restraints. No more separation. More Shadow. _The voices yelled, overpowering the screaming I was doing inside. _

_My hands traveled down and hooked around Shadow's belt loops, drawing it even closer so that our hips were touching. The kiss was getting ferocious now and we were pulling and pressing each other so close it was as if we wanted to merge into one person. I swear there was a little tongue in there…okay, I lied; there was a lot of tongue. Like…a lot. Tears streamed down my face as the kiss deepened even more._

NO! _I screamed at the top of my lungs and with a mighty wrench I bit down hard on Shadow's lip. It stumbled back as I began to claw at the chains on my feet, thrashing and writhing. Shadow turned to me, its lip bleeding. Even though blood was trickling down it was still smiling wickedly. It came over to me and I struggled even more, trying to get the chains on my feet off. It slammed me against the wall, eyes glinting murderously even though it was grinning ear to ear. With a mighty punch I was on the ground, screaming and clutching my broken nose. It quickly shackled my arms back to the wall and I was at square one again. I'd been so close. SO CLOSE TO BEING FREE I COULD SMELL IT. Then it was just taken away from me, just like everything else in my life. _

_ "__That was just a small example of how I can control you." Shadow growled, tilting my head up so I was forced to look at its face. "If you'd let me stay in control, that little make-out session could've become something more. Body to body. Skin to skin. It would've been a fun time." I drew back, disgusted._

_ "__I wouldn't appreciate having 'a fun time.' And really, Shadow? Having _it_ in a cell? You have horrible taste. A bedroom or even a couch would've been better." I scoffed mockingly. Shadow bared its teeth, annoyed with the fact that no matter how much it broke me I would still be defiant. It slapped me, but I stayed strong; holding its icy gaze boldly. It punched me in the gut and I gasped, straining against the chains. All of a sudden a golden whip materialized in its hands. Why shouldn't it? This was my subconscious after all and it was in control. I thrashed feebly, but I was already so beaten and weak. _

_Shadow lashed me across the chest and I shrieked, pulling at the chains furiously. They didn't give way. Blood began to gush down and pool on the floor as a deep gash from the whip cut its way across my abdomen. It continued to lash me and beat me; my screams never-ending and the chains retraining me mercilessly as the skin on my wrists and ankles began to bleed from thrashing. _

_Pretty soon I went limp. It lashed my chest again. I didn't move or even whimper. I stared off into nothing, thinking about how much of a failure I was and the voices gladly helped me beat myself up about this whole thing. _

Worthless.

Weak.

Scrawny.

Useless.

Failure.

Disappointment.

Loser.

Disgrace.

_I bent my head and tried to make myself look as small as possible, learning from my days with Lupa that it was a sign of submission. I was done; I finally submit. I didn't want to fight anymore; I had no fight left to even try. I finally succumbed to Shadow; it was in charge. I wouldn't thrash. I wouldn't make snarky comments or try to be defiant. Shadow was in control; it ruled me, it owned me. My moment of glory was gone. The defiance and the rebelliousness had left me. _

_ "__I give up." I said quietly, my voice raw from screaming. Shadow smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. _

_ "__Look at me." it growled. I obeyed. I was nothing. I was its puppet. I did what it said without question. A tear found its way down my face and dripped onto the floor. "I control you, Jason Grace. Isn't that right?" it repeated. _

_I thought of the beating, the whipping, the cold, the misery, the anguish, the shame and humiliation, and the voices. Why did I even bother trying anymore? Why did I try to cling so desperately to what little I had left to live for? Wasn't I just going to lose it anyway? I looked up at it, my eyes becoming misty. Slowly, I nodded. A smile spread across its face. "Good. You've learned your place." Then it left, leaving me suffering in the dark. _


	12. Aloe Vera

**(A/N) I know that in most of my fanfictions Jason is either suffering, dying, suffering and dying, or on one occasion; suffering, dying, then coming back to life. This may be an exception, though, if you want it to be. Most of the reviews say that they want Jason to get better and not die. DON'T THINK THAT I AM DEFINITELY SPARING JASON. I AM A TROLL LIKE RICK AND I CAN HAVE IMMENSE PLOT TWISTS. DON'T TAKE THAT AS 'JASON IS DEFINITELY GOING TO DIE.' YOU'LL NEVER KNOW. I have no idea why I like torturing Jason so much, but I promise that in the next fanfiction I publish it will be someone else suffering for a change.**

**I don't know why I like to write such gory and painful fanfictions, but it's in my nature; I don't really enjoy writing lovey-dovey, and-they-lived-happily-ever-after kind of fanfictions. Of course, one-shots are a different story and I can tolerate writing little dribble-drabble about happy endings n' stuff but writing an ****_entire story _****about it? That's out of my power. Kudos to whoever can do it. **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN PJO. THAT RIGHT GOES TO RICK. I DO, HOWEVER, OWN THE PLOT. **

Chapter Eleven: Aloe Vera

**Piper POV**

Just a tip; don't try to cry your eyes out while you're flying through the air on a metal dragon going over eighty miles an hour. When Percy and Leo woke me I thought monsters were attacking. Then Percy told me about the dream he had; of Jason being held captive and tortured in his own head. I wanted to believe it wasn't true, but demigod dreams are always true. I was sobbing into my hands as the wind whipped my hair into a frenzy, thwacking Percy in the face. My braids came undone and it was just everywhere. I didn't care, though; Jason was suffering and he had given up hope. This was possibly the worst day of my life aside from the Aphrodite's blessing incident.

"Piper." Percy's voice was gentle and he put a hand on my shoulder. His eyes were red from crying and I could tell Leo was having his moment up front; he wasn't speaking very much and his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably, suggesting he was crying. Jason had been our best friend. Now he was gone; less than an animal and being held hostage by the manifestation of the Shadow's Song. We had to hurry up before the Shadow's Song, or should I say Shadow, breaks him and he'll have no happy life to return to when he gets healed.

"Hang in there Jason." I murmured under my breath. That's when the rolling mountains came into view. I sucked in a breath; Yosemite National Park. We were in California. It was beautiful; mountains shot into the sky like spires, some of them being snow-capped despite the warmer weather. Valleys plowed through the landscape and waterfalls and streams were everywhere. Unlike Yellowstone, Yosemite didn't have any geysers or fields; just mountains and forests. A clear blue sky stretched overhead, not a single cloud to be seen. I heard wolves howling in the distance, along with the calls of Mule deer. This place was gorgeous.

"Where are we going to fine the Aloe Vera now?" Percy asked worriedly, glancing at all the huge mountains and the huge forests. It would take ten years just to check out one mountain for the Aloe, and by then Jason would already be gone. I got choked up just thinking about it.

"I have no clue. The acacia was in a freaking _lava chamber. _I have _no idea _where the Aloe might be growing; these magic plants can grow just about everywhere." Leo called to us over the wind.

"LANGUAGE, VALDEZ, LANGUAGE." I growled playfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I not speaking English? _Usted realmente debe_ _ir_ _a la mierda_." Leo chuckled and gave me the middle finger.

"What did he just say?" I whispered to Percy, who just frowned and shrugged.

Leo rolled his eyes and translated, "You should really go to hell." I pretended to look offended, but a smile as tugging at the edges of my mouth. Leo landed Festus by a small creek with beautiful little waterfalls. The backs of small fish appeared and disappeared as the water bubbled and splashed in a soothing rhythm. A dozen deer that had been drinking took one look at the large bronze dragon and got their asses out of there; disappearing into the tree line. We dismounted, rubbing our butts, which were sore from bouncing and shifting all day.

"So?" Percy asked, turning to Leo. "Can Festus track the Aloe?" Leo scoffed at this as if it were the most pitifully amusing thing he'd ever heard.

"Festus can detect a freaking lava chamber. He most certainly cannot detect a plant." The son of Hephaestus snorted. I began to panic; if we couldn't find the plant, Jason wouldn't get better. He'd be stuck inside his own head being tortured by the horrible manifestation of the Shadow's Song. Tears threatened to drip down my cheeks, but I blinked them away; I couldn't be the weak link on this quest and I most certainly couldn't break down every time I thought about my boyfriend.

"Maybe we can ask around; some dryads or naiads may know about the plant." I suggested, trying desperately to keep my voice from cracking or wavering. Percy and Leo looked thoughtful for a moment, but eventually they nodded in unison.

"Sure." Leo said with a shrug. "It could work. Are there any naiads connected to this creek?" Both of us looked at Percy, who was staring at the water, his brows furrowed in concentration.

"It doesn't seem like-" Percy was cut off when a blast of water hit him the face. A girl materialized from the water, giggling. Her green hair floated around her as if she were still underwater and her dress was sewn from cattail and sea grass. Percy, caught off guard, had no time to keep himself dry with his Poseidon-spawn powers and he was now sopping wet. With a flick of his wrist all of the water on him pooled back into the creek. The naiad stuck her tongue out at him and he returned the gesture. Ugh, Percy was just so immature.

"Excuse me, miss?" I asked, pouring all of the charmspeak I could manage into my voice. The naiad turned to me. She was beautiful; her face was smooth and clean of all freckles and blemishes, her hair was glossy, and her emerald green eyes were just dazzling. She smiled at me, revealing frustratingly straight, pearly white teeth.

"How can I help you?" I was surprised when she spoke. Her voice was as smooth as silk, though it sounded as if she was underwater. The naiads back at Camp Half-Blood only giggled, whispered, gossiped with each other, and laughed when they were around us.

"You know the magic Aloe Vera that grows here?" I questioned politely, cutting back on the charmspeak a little. The naiad nodded at this, still smiling. "Well our friend is sick. We need the plant, just a little clipping of it, as part of a potion that'll help him get better again." I told her. The water spirit's face turned grave and her emerald green eyes turned a murkier, darker shade.

"I see." She said in her faint and flawless voice. She pointed to the summit of the closest mountain. The mountain looked very, very steep and hard to navigate, tough it wasn't tall enough to be snow-capped. "The Aloe grows up there. Please only take a clipping; it keeps this place Wild."

We nodded with understanding; it was sort of like how the Golden Fleece kept Thalia's tree going, therefore keeping Camp Half-Blood's barrier functioning. If the Fleece was removed, Camp Half-Blood would be in danger, for the barriers would be down. It was the same thing for the Aloe; if uprooted, Yosemite would become barren and dead. Percy had said that when he removed the Fleece from Polyphemus' island, the island turned ugly; grass and trees died, flowers wilted. That's probably what would happen to Yosemite. Percy and I turned to Leo.

"Can Festus take us up there?" Percy asked him. Leo shook his head sadly and began to fiddle with the pockets of his magic tool belt.

"Festus is very, very tired and needs a break. If I overwork him, it'll fry his control disk. I can't get another one to replace it." At this Percy swore, gritting his teeth together in frustration.

"Damn, we have to climb all the way up there?" he gulped, staring up at it. The naiad nodded, shifting from one bare foot to the other.

"Festus can take us as far as he can, but when he needs to stop we're on our own." Leo explained and climbed onto Festus' back. It was true what the son of Hephaestus had said; the bronze dragon did look rather fatigued. His glowing eyes were a little dimmer and he was moving very slowly, like an electronic toy whose batteries were running out of power. Luckily, Leo had installed a solar panel that allowed Festus to gain energy just by being in the sun, but it would take a long time to recharge a huge metal dragon.

I hopped behind Leo and Percy followed my lead. Before we could take off, the naiad called up to us, "What disease does your friend have?" We looked at each other, eyes wide.

"I could say Ebola, cancer, or even AIDS using charmspeak. She'd believe me." I suggested in a low voice, so only Leo and Percy could hear. Festus shifted under us, eager to get going, causing his passengers to nearly topple off his back.

"Just tell her the truth." Leo scoffed. "She _is _pretty."

"Fine. And when we get home, Leo, you're giving me a foot massage and building a spa and a Jacuzzi in the Aphrodite Cabin or else I'll tell Calypso you were hitting on a naiad." I snorted. Leo's eyes widened and he nodded vigorously. Louder I added, "He has the Shadow's Song."

The naiad froze, her eyes wide. Did she know about the Shadow's Song? All of a sudden she screamed and covered her mouth. "I should've never told you where the Aloe was! Don't expect any help from other nature spirits or satyrs for the rest of your stupid quest!" she yelled, balling her fists and dissipating into water. We all exchanged a look. We didn't speak, but the words were clear as if we'd actually said them: _Uh-oh. We're screwed. _

"Let's just go. We can't wait forever." Leo said, his voice shaky. He spurred Festus into the air and the bronze dragon shot towards the mountain. We soared over forests that consisted of trees of all shapes and sizes. Some were short and squat and others were tall and lean; their branches scraping the sky with ease. We passed creeks, rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes; all shimmering beautifully in the late afternoon sun.

Finally, Festus came to the base of the mountain. It was rocky and steep, its peak seemingly jutting into the heavens. It wasn't the tallest mountain I've seen and I certainly knew it wasn't the tallest mountain ever, but it was still big enough to be a challenge to scale. Festus climbed into the sky and I felt the air becoming considerably cooler and my ears popped a little bit.

Festus all of a sudden swooped sharply to the side, landing on an outcrop of smooth, pale, grey rock. The dragon creaked and whirred. "Festus says he's done. This is as far as he can go. Come on guys, let's get moving." Leo groaned, slipping off his mechanical dragon's back. After all of us had dismounted, and plate on Festus' back moved aside to reveal a solar panel. He curled up and fell asleep, his snores but little creaks and with every exhale smoke came out of his nostrils.

We followed Leo on a horrible uphill journey. Very high and very sheer cliffs blocked our path almost every three feet and caused us to take very long and very grueling detours. It's not like this mountain was meant for hiking, even though Yosemite was open to the public. Airborne grit that was tossed up by the wind stung my eyes and made the water. The wind nipped at my arms and cheeks, but it was considerably warm compared to other winds I've experienced. Percy was grunting, cursing, and mumbling to himself as we scaled one of the cliffs, which mild enough to scale without having to go around but still pretty sheer.

I slipped and grit rained down on Percy, who cursed and spat pebbles out of his mouth. "You little piece of crap." He growled at me and looked down to search for a foothold. Leo was leading us, navigating and climbing the stone wall as if he'd been doing it all of his life. If anything Percy should be the best climber here; he's scaled the rock climbing wall more times than I could count and that was after we defeated Gaea. Who knows how many times he'd climbed that thing before I discovered that I was a half-blood?

"Why thank you, Perce." I laughed and continued uphill. My hands were covered in blisters and calluses by the time I reached the top, with Percy on my heels. Leo was waiting there expectantly, tapping his foot. I rolled my eyes and we continued onward. Let me just paraphrase what the climb was like in just a tad of dialogue:

"I'M TIRED."

"Shut up, Percy."

"Hey, you've been complaining too, Repair Boy!"

"Well it's not my fault."

"UGHHHHH WHEN ARE WE GOING TO EEEAAATTTT. I'M STARVING."

"Shut the (_censored_) up. You're supposed to be the responsible leader of this quest."

"LANGUAGE, VALDEZ, LANGUAGE."

"But Beauty Queen-"

"BLUE FOOD. UUUGGGGGHHHHH. STARVING. THIRSTY. TIRED."

"HOLY CRAP JUST SHUT UP."

"BOTH OF YOU JUST STOP BITCHING ABOUT EVERY SINGLE THING YOU COULD POSSIBLY BITCH ABOUT. BOTH OF YOU BOYS ARE LITTLE (_censored_) WHO CAN'T SHUT THE HELL UP, EVEN WHEN YOU'RE TELLING ONE ANOTHER TO SHUT THE HELL UP. IT'S ALWAYS AN ARGUMENT. BOTH OF YOU BE QUIET."

"Wow, that's deep."

So basically you get the point. The boys would complain and argue with each other for a while and then I'd flip out, only for them to begin whining and quarreling a few minutes later. The cycle seemed to be never-ending: Complain, argue, and flip out. Over and over and over again. Ugh. We took more breaks than I could count, yet Percy and Leo still wouldn't stop complaining that their feet hurt. They were demigods and they've won battles against monsters that seemed impossible to win and have defeated Giants and titans, yet they were complaining about THEIR GOD DAMN FEET HURTING.

I collapsed onto the ground face-first when we finally reached the summit. Leo and Percy followed my lead and we just lay there in the dirt. That's when I heard it; rustling in the bushes nearby. I leapt to my feet and drew Katropis. The boys looked around wearily, weapons drawn, though Leo had substituted a sword or dagger for a hammer.

"It was probably just a squirrel or something. Nothing to worry about. Let's just get the Aloe and go." I said finally and sheathed my knife, but I didn't let my guard down as we walked into a clearing. Percy still had his sword drawn and Leo hadn't put away his hammer; they were glaring at each other as if it were a contest of who would put their weapon away first. I looked around and sucked in a breath. "You have to see this." I breathed. The two stopped their competing and looked up. It was beautiful.

The trees thinned out to reveal a dazzling view; we could see everything. Clouds hung low, or it was just that we were high up, and clung to the mountains like fluffy balls of cotton; casting shadows over the trees below. The sky was a darkening blue due to the oncoming sunset, but it was no less beautiful as stars began to emerge and twinkle like tiny diamonds in the sky. I saw the lakes and creeks we'd passed on Festus, but they were so small and stuck out from the trees; like blue drops in a bucket of green paint. Percy sighed and took in the view, his green eyes sparkling like light on water in the light of the setting sun. Leo was smiling to himself, as if recalling a good memory. I turned and gasped. The boys jumped and whirled around, weapons aimed at the spot I was pointing at.

"Look! The Aloe!" It was true; the Aloe was growing in a little patch of earth at the foot of a huge oak tree. The oak's leaves shifted and rustled and its branches swayed in an enticing rhythm as the wind whistled through the boughs of the trees. The gentle breeze ruffled my hair gently and felt good; like a light brushing of fingertips against my skin. The Aloe was sheltered from the wind by the tree in which it grew at the base of; its spiny leaves sparkling with the magic that all of the plants we'd gathered.

I stepped forward, almost as if I was entranced by it. Leo had lowered his hammer, but Percy was looking around warily. I had that feeling too; my demigod senses were on edge and the hair on the back of my neck was prickling. I knew someone, or something, was watching us. I'd better get the plant quickly and get out of here as fast as possible. I reached out and my fingers brushed the leaves of the Aloe, slowly and gently plucking one of them off. The juice from it leaked onto my fingers, but I tried to gather it all up; we probably needed it. I handed it to Leo, who tucked it into his tool belt along with the acacia. Just as we were about to leave, a huge roar ripped through the trees.

We stumbled back as a…thing stomped out of the bushes. It had the body of a horse, except instead of short fur it was covered in green scales that looked extra hard. It had the face of a goat, along with the ears off a mule or donkey (or an ass, as I like to call it), and the wild mane and tail of a lion. A horn that curved backwards sprouted from its forehead and it looked really, really sharp. It strode out from the underbrush, looking ferocious. I realized that despite the way it looked, it was walking so lightly that its feet didn't even crush any blades of grass. It positioned itself between us and the Aloe, though I knew it was a little late for that; we already had the clippings that we needed.

"What is that thing?" Percy murmured under his breath. Surprisingly, it spoke, but its voice was communicating to me telepathically; so I only heard it in my head. Its voice was deep, but also both silky and gentle, like one of those maidens that would ride unicorns around from those movies, only male.

_I am a kilin, call me Balthazar. Kilins are a Chinese version of the Greek unicorn, so technically I am only alive right now because of my Greek cousins. You are not permitted to take the leaves of this Aloe plant, they are sacred to this place. _It said, sounding slightly annoyed. It shook its lion mane and bleated like a goat…if a goat had had a child with a snake and a unicorn. Leo gulped and rummaged around his tool belt taking out the Aloe leaf, which was perfectly intact, and tried to hand it to Balthazar, even though handing it back would mean Jason's death. The kilin made a snorting sound.

_The damage is already done. It would be easier for you to not make it down this mountain alive. _It snarled. It lowered its head and charged. We barely had enough time to register the fact that we were being attacked and we were barely able to dive out of the way in time. With surprising agility, it veered so sharply I swear its body folded in on itself as to avoid going across the edge. Percy raised Riptide, but I lowered it with my hand.

"Balthazar is a sacred animal. I can tell. Killing him would just bring one thousand curses upon our heads." I growled. Percy shivered.

"I really don't like curses." He whimpered as if recalling a bad experience. He capped Riptide and put the ben back in his pocket. Leo, on the other hand, still had his hammer raised like a weapon.

"How are we supposed to win against this thing if it can kill us but we can't kill it?" he asked incredulously.

"That's easy; we don't kill it. We run." And with that, I grabbed the arms of the two boys and we dashed into the thicket as fast as our legs could carry us. Balthazar was right on our heels as we stumbled, tripped, cartwheeled, summersaulted, and slid our way down the mountain, barely able to keep our footing for more than a few seconds. Balthazar, on the other hand, was as nimble and agile as a cat. He leaped from rock to rock in pursuit of us, easily catching up to us 'graceful' demigods.

_You will pay the price. _He bellowed. We slid down a steep slope on our butts as Balthazar was forced to take a detour; his hooves weren't cloven and he couldn't go down sheer cliffs. It was as if the detour didn't even slow him down; as soon as we reached the end we were being caught up to. That's when I remembered.

"Leo! Call Festus!" I panted as we ran as fast as we could. I was dirty, bruised, scratched, sore, and everything else horrible. We couldn't make it all the way down the mountain; we needed Festus. Leo fumbled with his tool belt clumsily, taking as much time as possible.

"Hurry up, man!" Percy hissed and Leo shot him a withering glare. He finally produced a small box that looked a lot like car keys, except there was only a single button in the center of it. Leo pressed it. Nothing happened. We had to stop glaring at the son of Hephaestus for a moment as we had to slide down yet another steep cliff. I turned around to see that Balthazar was right behind us. He was so close, in fact, that I could feel his warm, almost burning breath on my neck. It took all of my power to choke back a scream.

"Where's Festus!?" I screamed at Leo. Leo only looked smug. That's when we heard the loud beating of wings. A shadow fell over us, including the kilin, and Festus landed on the ground with surprising grace for a metal dragon. Balthazar reared back in confusion and fury, balking and backing up.

_What is this madness? _He screeched and galloped back the way we came, his scales shimmering in the light of the moon, which had just risen and was now covering the land in a bluish glow. Artemis must've been in a good mood today. Festus rose into the air. I swear to God he had a smug expression on his face as we darted off.

"What's next?" I asked, looking back at Percy, who had the map in his hands.

"Acacia? Check. Aloe Vera? Check. Next is wolfsbane." Percy replied, looking at the map with particular brooding and curiosity. "Off to Maine."

"But that's on the other side of the country!" Leo complained. "Why hadn't we just gone there first? Then we have to get all the way back west to go to the Grand Canyon. It's just a waste of Festus' energy, and our time."

"Because the map tells us that it had to be collected in this specific order, or else it won't work. The plants react to each other. It says here that wolfsbane thrives when in the presence of Aloe Vera, but when it is near acacia or alfalfa it wilts. If we put the Aloe in there, it will not be effected by the acacia or alfalfa. There are other things about the other plants, but I'm not going to say it all." Percy told us. With that, Leo wheeled Festus around and we flew off to an uncertain future. Would Jason live? Would we get Agamede to brew the potion in time? All of these questions ratted through my skull, but some questions have to be left unanswered until the time comes. _Why are we even doing this if the prophecy says that we'll fail? _A voice chided in my head. It did have a point. Why were we putting in the effort if we were destined to be unsuccessful in the first place? I shut that part of my mind up. We couldn't afford to be thinking negatively. We didn't have time. _Jason_ didn't have time.


	13. Shadow's True Intentions

**(A/N) I honestly think that this will be the last chapter to update before school starts. I may be able to squeeze in another chapter, but have at least two days to write it. And if this it is published within those two days I am awesome at updating. I am awesome anyway, though; I got you guys' attention up to this point. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO…or anything, really. **

Chapter Twelve: Shadow's True Intentions

**Jason POV**

_I looked in the mirror of my small, almost closet-like room. Screw that, it was a closet, but it was better than the cell. I almost didn't recognize the face looking back at me, but when I moved, he moved. When I frowned, he frowned. When I blinked, he blinked. This boy had unruly blonde hair and sad, round, broken blue eyes. His complexion was very pale and his mouth was constantly contorted into a frown. It wasn't like the frown that hot-headed people always had; with the sad eyes it looked more like the frown a kicked puppy would have. _

_I walked towards the door and turned the handle. Still locked. The small light that dangled feebly from the ceiling swayed back and forth. I knew that if the cords fell out or sparked I wouldn't get hurt, but the fire it could create could have me but a pile of ashes in a matter of seconds. Right in my own subconscious. If I died here, Shadow would forever be in control and my soul would go to Elysium. Meanwhile my body would still be here. It may get cured of the Shadow's Song; it may walk and talk and eat and train just like me, but it was really just Shadow wearing my skin like some sort of costume. A cruel, wicked, spine-chilling costume but still a costume all the same. _

_My closet was simple. A bed with a tattered pillow and worn sheets, but still a nice, comfortable bed all the same, which was way better than sleeping on the cold hard stones of the cell. I had a mirror, which was actually just a small, dirty, jagged piece of glass that was nailed to the wall. It was big enough so that I could see all of my face, but it was still sharp and I could cut myself if I brushed my fingers over the edges. There was the single light and a small end table with two empty drawers. I had no idea what use that would be to me. _

_The knob all of a sudden turned and I jumped as Shadow opened it. I hated the fact that it, or as it made me start calling it a he, looked just like me, except everything about him was more…colder. His eyes weren't broken or sad, just…evil, same thing goes for his crooked smile. He as leaning against the door frame nonchalantly. Most girls would faint, but I hated him with all of my heart and soul. He was evil and was greedy for control in order to crush anyone who defied him. He handed me a bundle of clothes. _

_ "__Wear these." He said, but it was more of an order rather than a suggestion. I looked over the outfit. A plain white cotton T-shirt and white shorts, also made of cotton. I scowled at them, but I didn't object. I waited for him to leave, but he didn't. I cleared my throat. "What?" he asked me. His steely blue gaze bore into me and I shuddered. "It's not like I haven't already seen you without clothes on." _

_ "__That's when it wasn't my choice. I have no idea why you're trying to make a move on me or be as seductive as possible. It won't work. I'm straight and that also adds onto the fact that I have a high disliking for you. Stop trying to convince me to love you. I never will. No matter how much you control me with that cold power of yours, no matter how much you _make me _love you, I will never truly have any affection towards you. Ever." I hissed. His only quirked an eyebrow at this, but he shrugged and closed the door. I quickly changed before he could get any ideas. So this is probably what girls felt like when a very annoying and very persistent guy was trying to hit on them. _

_I walked out and found Shadow leaning against the wall in a relaxed manner. When he saw me walk out he looked me up and down. "Seems good enough." was all he said as we walked to the dining room. He walked slightly behind me, so that he could catch me if I tried to make a run for it, for if he lost me in this maze of hallways, memories, ad other stuff he would never find me again. I almost wanted to try it, but I know he would just control me and bring me back, probably earning me a whipping._

_I was now Shadow's unquestioning servant (just a nicer way to say I'm a slave) and 'companion' as he calls it. He also claims that we're in a relationship, but it's 'unofficial.' Bull crap. We were never in a relationship in the first place. Heck, I wasn't even gay. He keeps trying to hold my hand and flirt with me, even surprising me with little pecks on the cheek here and there. WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL MAN, PERSONAL SPACE! IT'S MY BUBBLE; YOU DON'T INVADE IT. I DO NOT WANT YOU KISSING AND TOUCHING ME. Of course, I couldn't voice my thoughts aloud or else he'd beat me. The abuse had lessened drastically. Now he only hurt me if I did something wrong, since I never fought back or made any rebellious comments anymore. Other than that, he was just flirty, annoying, and bitchy. Basically Shadow was a prick._

_I think he wants me to let my guard down; to trust him. I'd be easier to control and plus he'd get a boyfriend to kiss all he wants. That's what he wants me to be. No. Just…no. We sat at the table, with him at the head. I sat in the farthest seat from him as possible, picking at my toast. I felt a warm breeze and Shadow was next to me, eating his own share of toast, with a side of bacon and eggs. He didn't try to be flirtatious or even talk to me. We just sat and ate. I relaxed, but as soon as I did that he landed a peck on my cheek. I recoiled in disgust and threw the rest of my toast away, putting my plate in the dishwasher. I waited patiently as Shadow finished, taking his plate and cup and putting them in the dishwasher. I had to do little things like that for him. _

_Shadow smiled at me with a very irritatingly perfect smile. It was off, though; it had a cold sort of look to it, like a serial killer who would smile after they just gutted someone. So it wasn't perfect. He led me down the hallway and into one of the rooms. I was surprised to find that this wasn't in my memory at all; it was as if Shadow had made it himself. It was a bedroom, but it was also a living room, too._

_A large, elegant, king-sized bed was off to the right, with black sheets, black pillowcases, black comforter, black everything. The only thing that wasn't black was the bed frame, which was made of mahogany. There were two plush couches and two chairs that faces a huge flat-screen TV, complete with all of the newest game consoles like the PS4 and the Xbox One, which I knew didn't go together very well. There weren't any windows, just like all of the other rooms in my subconscious, but bright lights illuminated a black wallpaper and a wooden floor that had been painted black. It looked like a room Hades would sleep in. Homey. Shadow locked the door behind us, slipping the key into his jeans pocket. _

_ "__So, are you liking your promotion of prisoner to companion?" he snorted and sat on the bed._

_ "__Well anything is better than being naked chained to a wall in a cold cell." I scoffed and collapsed into one of the couches. Man, this was comfier than my bed back in the closet. Then again, that was a bed in a closet. This was top-notch couch, probably super expensive. _

_ "__Feisty, aren't you?" he chuckled and sat down next to me. "So? What do you want to do? Watch a movie? Play video games? Anything?" _

_ "__I just want to relax." I muttered into the couch. _

_ "__Boring." Shadow scoffed and nudged me with his elbow. "C'mon let's do something fun." _

_ "__What's your definition of fun? You seemed to be having a lot of 'fun' torturing me." I snapped. _

_ "__Oh you have a chip on your shoulder. Forgive me, if you will." Shadow pleaded, but I knew that it was fake. He would gladly beat me to death if he didn't want a little plaything to entertain him all the time. _

_ "__What am I supposed to say? 'I forgive you for taking over my mind and torturing me to the edge of insanity'? Some things can't be forgiven." _

_ "__Ugh. I guess I'll never earn your trust." _

_ "__No…no you won't." _

_ "__How about we visit memories, play hide and seek or tag, spar, I don't know. Whatever you want."_

_ "__I just need some rest." I closed my eyes and felt that it was very easy to go to sleep when you're in your subconscious; no dreams, no nightmares, no mystical warnings and such, just…peace. I welcomed the emptiness and slipped into a dreamless slumber. _

_When I woke up, I was in Shadow's bed. I was neatly tucked in and the sheets were so soft that I knew they must've been filled with either pegasus down or just really, really soft material. I kept my eyes closed when I felt someone sit at the edge of the bed. Shadow. He patted my side and brushed some hair out of my face. I kept my breathing slow as to make him think that I was still asleep, and he seemed to buy it because he started whispering to me. _

_ "__You say you have given up, Jason, but you still show defiance. You say you will not fight, but you resist against my affections. It is my job to crush you, do you hear? Of course not, you're asleep. I shall put an end to your satanic and rebellious nature. I may just have to lock you in that cell again. A tortured and insane Jason is better than a defiant Jason, though I do not want to let you into insanity's embrace. I will torture you until your measly life is meaningless and you are nothing but blood and skin and sticks; I'll do whatever it takes to get you to truly submit. I will control you; I will break you. Even the wildest horses can be tamed. I will take away your free will and you will be nothing but a puppet that obeys my commands. Just wait, Jason Grace, just wait." He growled into my ear and then he left, slamming the door shut behind him._

-Ω-

**Nico POV**

Okay I admit it; we had to chain Jason's hands behind his back. He was tearing himself apart; literally. First he bit off two of his fingers, then he tore his hair out, then he ripped out his eyeball, and he was scratching himself so hard that it was leaving deep gauges in the skin. Most of us suggested putting him in a strait jacket instead, but it was a bazillion degrees outside and the strait jacket would just make him overheat. Besides, there wasn't air conditioning in this room. We decided that chains would be better.

I leaned against the bars of the cage, staring Jason straight in the eyes…well…eye. He was chained to the opposite wall, but he didn't really seem to mind. He just hummed and muttered to himself all day, tapping his feet to the beat of a song I could not hear.

"Jason." I murmured. My voice cracked and I looked down so he couldn't see the tears that were welling up behind my eyes. "Jason I know you're in there. The real you. I know you probably can't hear me, but don't worry; Percy, Piper, and Leo are on a quest to help you. Just, please, hang in there. Fight the disease. Fight it. I know you're strong. I believe in you. Just please, Jason…don't give up. Come home."


	14. Wolfsbane

**(A/N) Damn, I didn't make the deadline. That sucks…like…a lot. I'm also really, really, really late. There was a question in the reviews, so I'll answer it.**

**_Matt_****: ****I want to know what you meant by Camp Fish-blood? Is it a place in one of your other stories or in a story you've read/are reading?**

**Camp Fish-Blood is from the Mark of Athena. Remember when shrimpzilla attacked the Argo and Leo, Hazel, and Frank were washed overboard? They sunk down to Camp Fish-Blood, or Rick said the real name was a series of growls and clucks that couldn't be put into words. -Iwovepizza**

**If you have any more questions, just post it in the review. I will surely answer it if I can. PLLLLLEEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEEE REVIEW! PRETTY, PRETTY, PRETTY PLEASE!?**

**Me: DISCLAIMER TIME**

**Jason: I want to do it**

**Shadow: Too bad**

**Jason: *grumbles***

**Shadow: IWOVEPIZZA DOESN'T OWN PJO**

**Jason: WAIT YOU'RE NOT PART OF PJO**

**Shadow: Yeah, so?**

**Jason: THAT MEANS SHE OWNS YOU**

**Me: Technically it's true. You're an OC. **

**Jason: MAKE HIM DIE**

**Me: I can't just announce to the readers *gestures to you guys***

**Jason: YOU NEED TO KILL HIM. I AM SUFFERING. YOU ALWAYS MESS UP MY LIFE AND I AM SICK OF YOU**

**Me: Excuse me**

**Me: What did you say**

**Me: I AM THE AUTHOR I CAN MAKE YOUR LIFE EVEN MORE OF A HELL SO DON'T SASS ME**

**Me: *turns to you guys* I want no negative comments (constructive criticism is welcome, though) or flames, please or else I WILL KILL OFF EVERY CHARACTER YOU'VE COME TO LOVE AND BOMBARD YOU WITH SADNESS AND RUIN YOUR FEELS UNTIL YOU ARE ROLLING IN A PUDDLE OF YOUR OWN TEARS AND YOU NEED TO GO TO THERAPY BECAUSE THIS FANFICTION WILL DESTROY YOU FROM EVER READING ANYTHING EVER AGAIN.**

**Shadow: *claps slowly* Well said**

**Me: SHUT UP**

Chapter Thirteen: Wolfsbane

**Leo POV**

"We're here. Finally." I groaned as Festus soared over Acadia National Park. He soared over forests and past mountains that seemed to scrape the sky. Festus blew smoke out of his nostrils and made some clicking and whirring sounds.

_Where do we start?_

I repeated Festus' question out loud, "Okay guys, where are we going to search first?" Percy and Piper groaned. That was the single most dreaded question of this entire quest.

"Well," Piper began, "I know that wolfsbane is a really pretty flower that has purple petals that look similar to orchids; petals. I know that a flower wouldn't have that many powers, but this is a Wild flower. It has the word 'wolf' in it, so I think it may like the night better than the day or something. It's just a guess, though."

"But where are we going to find it here?" Percy asked.

"Has anyone been here before? We could search some of the main attractions before we go searching deep into the woods." I suggested.

Only Piper raised her hand. "My dad had to shoot a scene in a nearby town and since Acadia was so close we decided to pay a little visit. There's Cadillac Mountain, Otter Cliff, Great Head Trail, the Thunder Hole…"

"Wait, the Thunder Hole? That sounds a little too much of a coincidence." I scoffed.

"What do you mean?" Percy and Piper asked in unison.

"Well the Shadow's Song targets children of Zeus/Jupiter. It's kind of ironic that we're going to Acadia to find tis magic plant and there's a place called the Thunder Hole." I snorted.

"Leo you're a genius!" Piper exclaimed. I blushed and fiddled with one of Festus' metal plates.

"Aww, I am a genius. TO THE THUNDER HOLE!" I announced and Festus shot off like a bullet.

-Ω-

The Thunder Hole didn't seem like much; just water slapping in between two cliffs. But when waves crashed between them, it made a huge splash and a sound like thunder, hence the name the 'Thunder Hole.' It was pretty awesome. There was a little walkway for tourists to go on to see the Thunder Hole in action and to get splashed. The only problem was that it was _packed _with people visiting the national park. They snapped pictures of the splashing with cameras, the annoying clicking ringing in my ears like a bell. I hoped that there was no monster guarding the wolfsbane like Balthazar. Man that dude was grumpy.

I didn't think that the Thunder Hole was the place that the wolfsbane would be. It was all rock and water; no dirt for a plant to grow. Then again the acacia had been growing in a lava chamber. Anything was possible with Wild plants. Piper, Percy, and I stood at the railing for what seemed like hours upon hours on end. The tide began to retreat and that's when I saw it; when the water recoiled as waves built up, a secret shelf was revealed under the rock. Then the tide would come back with a splash and obscure it from view. Once or twice I swear I saw a glimpse of a shimmering purple petal, but it might've just been my imagination.

I elbowed my friends in the ribs and pointed to where the shelf was. The water withdrew and I heard both of them suck in their breaths. There was a good chance that the wolfsbane was there, waiting for us to trim it a little bit. The acacia and the Aloe seemed to become heavier in my tool belt, and that wasn't even supposed to be possible.

"Guys we can't just jump into the water and get the wolfsbane with all of these tourists milling around." I hissed. "We have to get them out of here."

"I'm on it." Piper said immediately and cupped her hands over her mouth. "FREE IPADS NOW ON CADILLAC MOUNTAIN! LIMITED SUPPLY! GET THEM WHILE THEY'RE STILL IN STOCK!" she shouted. Her charmspeak was so powerful, so potent that I wanted to get to Cadillac Mountain as fast as possible. I wanted a free IPad. The tourists immediately dashed off of the walkway and towards the road, their eyes glazed due to the charmspeak. Piper had to grab Percy by the collar to get him to not run off with them. The son of Poseidon shook his head clear and concentrated on the task at hand.

"This should be easy. Percy dives into the water, travels under the shelf, and gets the wolfsbane and comes back." Piper said simply once all of the mortals had filed out. The two of us turned to the son of Poseidon, whose brows were creased in deep thought.

"It's not that simple. Pan was a genius when he hid the wolfsbane here." He muttered.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You see how the water builds up and then comes back with a great force to crash against the wall of the Thunder Hole?" Percy asked, pointing to the waves. The two of us nodded. "Well even I can't withstand that much force from the water. As soon as that wave comes crashing in, I'll be thrown against the back wall and would pass out. Of course, I'd be alright, but it would just delay the quest. If this is going to work, I'm going to have to restrain the water with my powers while you two get the wolfsbane. The only problem is that water doesn't like to be controlled, so I'll only be able to hold it for at least a minute."

I grimaced. I didn't want to pick my way across the bottom of the Thunder Hole while Percy held back a torrent of swirling water. If he lost hold, I'd be thrown against the wall and undoubtedly be knocked out. I'd drown. I trusted Percy and all, but this was very, very, very risky. But this was our only chance, our only hope to get to the wolfsbane. Finally, I sighed and reluctantly agreed, with Piper following my lead.

"Here goes nothing." Percy said. I was sure that it was intended to sound upbeat and humorous, but it came out strained. The son of Poseidon took a step forward and swung he legs around so that he was sitting on the railing, his legs dangling right above the Thunder Hole. I sucked in a breath as another wave went crashing into the wall, sending up a shower of water that pelted us in icy droplets, a sound like thunder rumbling as if it were an actual storm. Wind from the sea battered our bodies and grabbed at our clothes and hair, but we stayed focused.

Slowly, the son of Poseidon let one hand slip from the railing. He looked at us and his green eyes were filled with terror, but also bright with determination. He took a deep breath and grit his teeth. Time seemed to slow down as Percy let his other hand slide. The son of Poseidon went crashing into the water and disappeared from view.

"Percy!" Piper cried as both of us desperately searched the murky blue water. There was no sign of him and another wave was building up. He had to hurry, or else the wave would pummel him. Just as water began to flow into the Thunder Hole, an invisible force caused it to back up, resulting in a huge barricade of swirling water. The water that had been in the Thunder Hole already drained out and joined the rest of the water. It seemed to be straining against the force, trying to break free. The tide and flow was calling to it. In the midst of it all was Perseus Jackson. His hands were raised and his forehead was already beaded with droplets of sweat that trickled down his face and neck, soaking his shirt.

"Go! I can't hold it much longer!" he managed weakly. Piper and I wasted no time; we hurtled over the railing and landed on the sopping and slushy mud. It squished and squelched as we ran across the bottom. The wall of water loomed over us, as tall as a two-story house. It was beating against the barrier, trying to smash it. If that happened, Piper and I were dead. Percy moaned as the pressure seemed to crush him. "Hurry!" he rasped.

I tried to run as fast as I could, but running in the mud was even harder than running in sand. The mud sucked our feet down to our ankles and my shoes and socks were covered in damp, oozing muck. I didn't care; the shelf had been revealed. I hadn't been imagining the purple petals; planted in the shelf was the sparkling magic wolfsbane. I ran to it just as Percy let out a gut-wrenching scream. His hands, still held high in the air, trembled as if he were holding something heavy and his face was contorted in pain.

"C'mon!" I cried and motioned for Piper to help me pluck a few petals off of the flower. We shoved them into my tool belt but we left most of the petals on the plant. We sprinted back, our speed causing us to touch the ground so lightly that we didn't sink. It must've been our demigod training or something that helped us. We vaulted back over the railing, tripping and stumbling as we landed, but we still kept our balance. I stroked the pocket of my tool belt as if to feel the wolfsbane tucked neatly inside. We had done it. I nearly sighed with relief, but that's when Percy let out another guttural scream and the wall of water came crashing down on top of him.

"PERCY!" Piper and I screeched and ran back to the railing. Our gazes scanned the water desperately for anything; the glimpse of some black hair, a hand, a leg. We saw nothing. The waves churned and crashed violently and mercilessly, causing a huge grind of 'thunder' and water droplets to nip at our faces, but there was still no sign of our friend. Where was he? He was certainly unconscious; his strength had been sapped and pushed to the breaking point, and the water undeniably had thrown him against the wall with a force unlike no other as if he were a rag doll.

"Festus!" I cried, pressing the button (which was sort of like a remote that told him TO GET HIS LOUSY BUTT TO WHEREVER I WAS) frantically. I immediately heard the beat of wings and Festus landed on the walkway. The metal creaked and groaned under his weight, but thankfully it held. Festus could barely squeeze his body between the two railings and the sound of grinding metal filled the air as the railings snapped in half to make room for Festus' large body. "Help us find him." I ordered as I clambered onto his back, with Piper right behind me. Compared to Festus, the Thunder Hole was small. He could barely hover in the air as we watched the roiling water froth and splash in a chaotic and wild dance.

The bronze dragon suddenly dunked his head into the water and emerged with a rather broken and damp form. He took to the skies and soared over the forests, the bundle still in his jaws. It was so limp I could've mistaken it for seaweed if I didn't give it a second look, but I knew what is was…more like _who _it was. Festus landed on the crest of a small hill, placing it down gently as we slid off. I scrambled down and ran to it, kneeling down next to it. Percy. He hadn't had time to make himself dry, so he was soaking and shivering. His form was all bruised and scratched from the impact against the wall. I was surprised no bones were broken. Then again, his bones would've healed in the water no matter what.

"Perce. Wake up."

"C'mon, man. Wake up." I said and prodded his shoulder with my hand. He didn't move. Piper shouldered her way next to me and shoved me out of the way. I yelped indignantly, but let her. I knew that she was going to do the same thing that she'd done with Festus and Jason (when he'd been falling through the sky and had seen that vision of the kids from Camp Jupiter.)

"Wake up." Piper said. Her tone was forceful and her voice was filled with demanding. It made my eyes snap open. I felt like I was high on caffeine…either that or the ADHD was kicking in. Percy coughed and sat bolt upright, wide awake.

"W-w-what happened?" he stuttered, rubbing his head gingerly.

"You got knocked out. But the good news is that you're not dead and we have the wolfsbane." I replied. He sighed with relief and lay on the grass, gazing at the sky, which was shimmering with a pelt of twinkling stars.

"One more plant to go." He murmured.

"Pack up guys. Leo, we're re-visiting the Grand Canyon, and hopefully no venti will attack us this time." Piper announced and marched off to board Festus. I chuckled and Percy looked between us in confusion, not getting the inside joke. Jason would've gotten it. He would've thought it was funny. I sighed. If we don't hurry up, there might not be a Jason to return to.


	15. Rebellion

**(A/N) I feel bad for you guys because the updates are coming really slow…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Fourteen: Rebellion

**Nico POV**

"Jason, please." I murmured as Jason stared at me intently with his one eye. "Please. If you're in there just do something. Show me. Show me that you're not all gone, because I know you're not. All I need is proof." The corners of Jason's mouth twitched at this, as if he thought this was funny. But I knew that the real Jason didn't think this was funny. At all.

"Don't know what you're talking about. Jason is completely fine. A-OK." The son of Jupiter chortled.

"I know that's not you." I whispered and looked down. Tears welled up behind my eyes and made my vision blurry, but I blinked them away. "C'mon. C'mon. Show me. _Show me that you're still in there._" My voice cracked and I looked away from the cage. When I finally was able to get my emotions under control, I turned back to Jason, who had ignored my plea and was now clicking his heels together and giggling as if it were the funniest thing ever. I wondered if I should put him out of his misery. I knew he was suffering; dying a slow, painful, terrible death, so I might as well just end it then and there.

I couldn't do that, though. The real Jason may be trying to break free right there and then and I would just ruin his chance for survival. Besides; that would mean that Percy, Leo, and Piper had set out on that quest for nothing. Jason was humming to himself and shifting his position. If I hadn't been in the room and wasn't aware of what was going on, I would've thought that Jason was just going about his day at camp. Everything was perfectly normal. I wish that was the case.

_Maybe I can spark memories in him; help him break free by making him recall good times._ I thought to myself. I knew that worked in all the movies; a character would be being controlled and another character would speak to them soothingly; making them remember stuff about themselves that helped them break free. Sadly, that wasn't the case with Jason. I talked to him all the time; telling him about how I feel about this entire thing and even sharing some scraps of my personal life. If he'd remembered anything, he didn't show it. Maybe an object could spark him instead of just words.

I dashed out of the room and sprinted to the Zeus cabin. It looked barren and gloomy; its light turned off and its doors closed tightly and locked. I shadow-traveled inside and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust in the dark. Lightning flashed overhead and thunder rumbled; the only source of light besides the windows, but the light of the setting sun wasn't helping the least bit. I ran to the bed that Jason usually slept in. The covers were all messed up and dusty as hell and the pillow looked as if it had accumulated some lice or something. I shivered, but not from the cold that was gripping me like a hand, but from the fact that Jason had tried to murder Percy in here; Jason had slowly gone insane in this very cabin. It was awful.

I found a chest full of his stuff; clothes, medals, a photo album. I quickly snatched the album from its place in the chest. I ran my fingers over the leather-bound pages. I could feel the weight of the pictures just by holding the book in my hand, but that also meant that the album was heavy with memories. This would do. If he couldn't recall from this photo album, then he'd have to be on his own in his fight against the Shadow's Song; I wouldn't be able to help him.

I sighed and shadow-travelled back to the room where Jason was waiting expectantly. "Jason look." My voice was firm. "Look at me." The son of Jupiter's wandering blue gaze focused on me. I held out the photo album and flipped the cover open. In neat handwriting was: _This book belongs to Jason Grace. _I flipped the next page and showed it to him.

"Jason, the memories! Look at this! The time when you and Piper, your beautiful girlfriend went on a double date with Percy and Annabeth. The day everyone came back from the Giant War. All of these memories are yours, Jase." I exclaimed and showed him all the pictures. Jason looked at them with distinguishable curiosity.

"Can't see them that well." He said and frowned; a slight downturn of the corners of his mouth. I had strict orders not to go into the cage; Jason could attack me, infect me, or even worse, kill me. I was a son of Hades, though, not a son of Zeus or Jupiter; I _couldn't _get infected. Besides; Jason's hands were chained behind his back and all I wanted to do was look at some pictures with him. I turned and grabbed the keys off of a hook that was imbedded in the wall. Slowly, I opened the cage. Jason seemed eager; his blue eye was shining. "I want to see the pictures."

"Wait…what?" I stuttered, shock clearly shown in my voice.

"I want to see the pictures." Jason repeated and his eyebrows quirked in confusion. He didn't seem to understand why I was so astonished. Jason just used first person. He actually used first person. I sucked in a breath and sat down next to the son of Jupiter. His chains rattled as he scooted closer to me in order to get a better view. "Let's start. I can't wait." Again. First person. Was it a sign? A sign that the real Jason was still in there somewhere?

"Okay." Was to only thing I could say. Excitement bubbled inside of me as I opened the book and flipped to the first page that had pictures in it. I pointed to the first one. "Here's you and Percy arm-wrestling. You two were so competitive that whoever lost had to wear bright pink boxers for a month."

"Oh. I remember that." Jason murmured, partially to himself. His gaze was distant as if recalling the incident. "I lost. Most humiliating month of my life." Jason chuckled at this. It wasn't a petty, maniacal chortle; just a regular, plain laugh. I nearly cried; I'd missed that laugh more than I cared to admit. The best part was that he'd gotten it right; he had lost and that proved that he wasn't just making things up. He was actually remembering.

"And here's you and I posing like idiots in front of this statue of Zeus; your dad." I say and point to the picture below it. Jason laughed at our ridiculous pose; Jason was carrying me bridal-style with a goofy smile and I had been laughing uncontrollably, so it looked like I was about to throw up all over him.

"That's funny." Jason exclaimed and laughed some more. He smiled; a smile that lit up his gruesome features that was incredibly different from the lunatic smile he'd been using for the last month or so.

We stayed up until late night looking at the pictures. Jason had smiled and laughed and recalled the past events as if he were normal. After we were done, Jason yawned. Yeah, I said it; _yawned. _

"I'm tired." He murmured as his eyelids began to droop. "Let's do this," he yawned once more, "again tomorrow. I like hanging out with you, Nico." He called me Nico. Not Nemo; Nico. I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, but I couldn't cry in front of Jason. It wouldn't matter, though, because the son of Jupiter was already asleep. Soft snores came from his nose and I chuckled, taking the photo album with me as I closed the door as softly as I could. This was progress. This was definitely progress.

I was halfway to my cabin when I realized something. I still had to get the Stygian Ice for Percy, Piper, and Leo. Dammit. I threw the book down onto my bed and quickly shadow-traveled to the underworld. As soon as I got there, I collapsed. That was enough shadow-traveling for one day.

-Ω-

**Jason POV**

_I sat on the couch in Shadow's room and watched as the TV broadcasted what was going on through my eyes. Well…though my body's _eye._ I had no idea why I was watching this; I was crying and screaming hysterically as Nico talked to me. I could see the tears brimming in his hurt, depressed eyes and his attempts to blink them away. He looked so miserable I wanted to claw my eyes out as not to see him. Well, I already gauged one of my eyes out in the real world, so I guess I had to do the other one. I didn't control myself, though, so it was impossible. _

_ "__C'mon. C'mon. Show me. Show me that you're still in there." Nico murmured to me. _

_"__I'm right here! I'm not going anywhere! Please, Nico! Don't give up on me! I can hear you!" I shrieked and tears streamed down my face. I buried my face in my hands and cried. My shoulder shook and my body was racked with sobs. "Nico! Nico!" _

_ "__Screaming at the TV isn't going to work." A voice I knew all too well told me. I turned around to see Shadow, his lips quirked in a half-smirk. "It's pitiful what you're doing now. As if he can hear you." I didn't respond, for fear that I'd snap at him. Shadow laughed; a cruel, hollow sound. He plopped himself next to me, though I'd prefer that he'd leave and never come back. I was in his room, though. I was the trespasser this time. _

_ "__Aww, is little Jason sad?" Shadow mocked. "Do you need a bottle or your mommy?" That struck a nerve. My mom had been an alcoholic, though I barely remember her; Thalia's description was the only thing that gave me the slightest hint of what she looked like. _

_ "__Go away." I murmured and looked down, tears spilling down my cheeks in a steady flow. _

_ "__Well that's not very nice." Shadow exclaimed with false and sarcastic hurt dripping from his voice. He put a hand on my shoulder and it was instinct to shy away from his touch. I honestly have developed __haphephobia; the fear of touch. Shadow has ruined me from ever willingly having physical contact with anyone ever again. Shadow frowned at my reaction but didn't try to touch me again like he usually did. "You scared of me?" he asked. _

_I knew if I answered no I would be beaten, so I nodded vigorously. It wasn't entirely a lie, though; his hands were invasive and he had no respect for personal space. He'd try to comfort me when I was crying by wrapping his arms around me, which only made it worse. He wasn't the least bit consoling; his skin was always cold to the touch and he sort of seemed to want to leave is mark on me, as if telling others: _He's mine and mine alone; he belongs to me.

_I cried myself to sleep every night because of it. Now when he touches me I either freeze up, break down into a fit of tears, tremble violently, or more commonly try to get away from him. It's terrifying. Shadow knows my fear; he knows everything about me. Now he goes out of his way to be as touchy as possible. He'll put his hand on my shoulder when it isn't necessary, try to hold my hand even when I'm trying to walk as far away from him as I can, and other utterly meaningless gestures. My fear of touch only grows. _

_Shadow and I watched the TV for a few more hours and I kept breaking down; it was unbearable to watch Nico suffer like this. I was just about to get up and go cry in my room as to be away from Shadow's gaze, but that's when I felt a cold hand on my waist. I screamed at the top of my lungs and leapt to my feet. Shadow cackled and wiped a tear from his eye. "That was hysterical." _

_ "__No it wasn't!" I screeched and clenched my fists. "Stop it." Shadow's eyes became murderous. _

_ "__What did you say?" he snarled. I froze. Fear gripped my heart like an icy, merciless hand as the threat hung in the air. My heart slammed in my chest as Shadow stood up and walked towards me, his expression no longer humored. "Answer the question." He growled. I trembled under his remorseless dark gaze and kept my mouth shut. All of a sudden I looked at the screen to see Nico showing me the photo album that I'd kept in my trunk. Where did he get that?_

_ "__Jason, the memories! Look at this! The time when you and Piper, your beautiful girlfriend went on a double date with Percy and Annabeth. The day everyone came back from the Giant War. All of these memories are yours, Jase." Nico told me desperately. That's when I lost it. Nico was suffering and I was afraid of Shadow? That was unacceptable._

_I whirled on him and shoved him back with great force, wincing as my palms pressed against his chest. Caught off guard, Shadow stumbled back. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" I screeched. "I WANT YOU TO STOP TOUCHING ME! STOP BEATING AND WHIPPING ME! GET OUT OF MY HEAD YOU ASSHOLE! I'M NOT YOUR SERVANT OR PUPPET ANYMORE! GET. OUT!"_

_Shadow turned to me, his black eyes portraying no emotion. His face was a mask of calm, like the calm that came before a huge hurricane. All of my courage abandoned me. I was left with this horrible psychopath that I had undoubtedly just angered. I began to tremble once more. This was bad. This was beyond bad; this was awful. I couldn't imagine the things he could do to me; the tortures he could put me through in that horrible cell. That's when the most horrifying this happened. Shadow's eyes rolled back into his head to reveal only whites. He smiled; revealing two rows of serrated teeth. _

_ "__You made a poor choice, Mr. Grace." He snarled. "Now it's time for you to die." He drew his sword; five feet of polished Stygian Iron that radiated pure coldness. I was weaponless and I knew that if I died in my subconscious, I would never be able to control myself ever again. My soul would go to Elysium and I would finally be free, but my friends would be stuck with Shadow until the day the Shadow's Song killed me. Day after day I could feel myself weakening; day after day the disease becomes stronger. _

_I decided to stand and fight; giving up would be my downfall. I was strong. I looked to see Nico sitting at my side as he flipped through the photo album with me. I would win this for him and for the others. I had to be strong. This was the revolution; the revolution against the monster that was festering inside of me. _

_ "__I'm not giving up." I growled. "No matter how much you break me I will always be here. You can never get rid of me." Shadow sneered at this. _

_ "__You act brave, yet I know you are frightful on the inside. You cannot deny it." He snickered. _

_ "__I never said that I _wasn't _afraid." I retorted. Before I could register what was happening, I pulled a sword out of thin air. Shadow stared at me with wide eyes as I ran my fingers across the Imperial gold blade, smiling wickedly at him. "My subconscious. My rules. And I say no doppelgangers allowed." An invisible force tossed Shadow into the wall as if he were a ragdoll. _

_Shadow leapt to his feet, but he no longer looked like me. He looked like the Shadow that haunted me in my dreams before he took over. Before I let him take over. I shouldn't have been so weak. So cowardly. It was no one's fault but my own that I was in this mess. Shadow snarled as he looked down at himself; he was wearing his classic tuxedo with shaved head and pale, pale skin. The only thing that never changed were those penetrating black eyes. _

_Before I could react, Shadow swung at me. I tried to twist out of the way, but the blade caught my arm and I screamed as a deep gash was gauged into the skin. Shadow laughed wickedly as I stumbled back; blood dripping down and pooling on the floor in thick, crimson puddles. This, however, only fueled my rage. He swung at me again and I parried, kicking him in the chest to that he was sent stumbling backwards. Using his unbalance to my advantage, I knocked him to the ground with the flat of my blade. I raised my foot to stamp on him, but he was expecting that. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me down so that we were writhing on the ground. My sword clattered out of my hand and skidded away. I dove for it, but Shadow threw his weight on top of me, pinning me to the ground. He turned me over so that my back was flat against the cold floor and I was forced to look at his ugly face. _

_I screamed and struggled to shove him off, but he was too heavy. My phobia was getting to me and I was struggling more out of panic and desperation rather than out of vengeance and fury. Black spots danced in my vision as the fear consumed me; clouding my thoughts with terror and fright. _

I'm dead!

He's going to kill me!

It's over!

_I shoved the voices, which sounded panicked rather than depressing, to the back of my mind, but they kept coming back. My fear only fueled them and pretty soon they were shouting at me, causing my head to rattle with freaked and panicked yells. I screamed again and pushed as hard as I could against him, but he only shifted so that my arms gave way and were pinned to the ground. _

_ "__Scared of a little touching aren't you?" Shadow asked, a cruel smile playing on his lips. I only wailed in reply. I tucked my knees against my chest in order to get some space between us, and Shadow must've thought that I was doing it out of fear. I realized that no matter how much he knew, no matter how much he rifled around my thoughts and discovered my fears, he really didn't know the first thing about me. Shadow's smile broadened and he raised his sword. _

_That's when I pummeled his chest with my knees, catching him off-guard. He yelped in surprised and was sent flying. I grabbed my sword and leapt to my feet just as Shadow regained his footing. Blood still trickled steadily from the wound in my arm and I was beginning to become dizzy from blood loss, but the adrenaline that rushed through my veins like a raging river kept me from blacking out. Shadow snarled at me, his black eyes glittering. _

_He leapt at me, the black metal of his blade coming down in a deadly arc. I was only barely able to roll out of the way as the sword impaled itself into the floor where I'd just been standing. Shadow struggled to pull the sword from the floor and I used the opportunity to kick him in the ass. Literally. He crashed face-first into the ground, but recovered with lethal speed. The momentum from the fall had wrenched his sword from the floor and it was not leveled at my throat. I held his gaze boldly as he glared at me. _

_ "__Any last words, Grace? Or should I say, _dis_Grace?" he sneered. His gaze was confident; he thought he'd won. Here I was, at the end of his sword, gazing defiantly at him even though he could deliver the fatal blow easily and end my miserable life right there and then. _

_ "__You don't control me anymore." I growled, looking down at the polished Stygian iron that, with only the slightest flick of Shadow's wrist, could slice my neck to ribbons. "The icy thing you did with my bones? That was only barely able to contain me; to contain my spirit. I was just too defeated to realize that." _

_With that I swung my sword up and the metals met with a harsh metallic clang. We swung and parried and dodged, almost like a deadly dance. A dance in which the person who messed up their footing was as good as dead. Shadow was graceful and elegant; his moves swift and steady like a panther's. He never missed a beat and his eyes were always moving; deciphering what moves I would make and where I would strike. His black eyes shone like a viper's; hungry and savage. _

_I, on the other hand, was more brutish in my moves. I swung and blocked with staggering ferocity, yet was able to twist agilely and maneuver nimbly. Almost like a lion. Shadow was all defense and no offense; sacrificing all of his good opportunities to strike out for chances to see where I would hit and block that. He took no risks, and it was beginning to bore me. Finally he attacked, but I'd realized that he always stepped before he slashed. I easily parried and I pushed against his blade, twisting the hilt of my sword so that Shadow was forced to drop his sword. It landed on the ground with a clatter. _

_Shadow stepped back, eying me wickedly. His mouth was contorted into a gruesome scowl, revealing his fangs. "You can't kill me. This shouldn't be possible." He said with disbelief. _

_ "__You seem to underestimate me." I growled and ran two fingers over the blade of my sword. With a mighty thrust, Shadow was no more. His form crumbled to the ground and dissipated into smoke. I was panting heavily, but that's when I realized that Shadow's life force was what kept his room together. I dashed for the door as the ceiling, walls, and floor crackled and crumbled away to reveal a black void of nothingness. _

_I was only able to make it through when the entire room fell away. I landed on my stomach and skidded so that my head smashed into the wall. Almost as if I were drunk, I staggered to my feet only to see that the door was gone, as if Shadow's room hadn't been there in the first place. That's when I realized something. I still wasn't controlling my body. What was going on? What was happening? I won against Shadow! He was supposed to be gone and I would now be able to live normally again! _

_I banged against the walls with my fists, screaming at the top of my lungs for somebody. Anybody. They probably couldn't hear me. Uh-oh. I was trapped inside my subconscious, maybe permanently. I slid down to the floor, curled up, and began to cry. _


	16. Alfalfa

**(A/N) MWAHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGER! I REGRET NOTHING! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Fifteen: Alfalfa

**Nico POV**

"NICO! NICO!" I jolted awake to the sound of someone screaming my name. My first thought was, _Seriously? My one break and someone is waking me up? _But the person on the outside kept slamming on the door with their fists, making it impossible to go back to sleep. With a groan I threw on my usual clothes and ran to the door of the Hades cabin; my bare feet slapping against the cool obsidian floor. I fumbled with the latches and locks that kept the huge door from allowing visitors in and threw it open. Standing there was Will Solace and he looked pretty freaked out. "It's Jason." He gasped in between breaths. I nodded at him and slammed the door as the child of Apollo ran back to the Big House.

I slipped on my shoes as fast as I could, not bothering to look for socks. Jason was in danger of some sort. Did he die? Did the disease finally take over? WHAT WAS HAPPENING!? As I sprinted to the Big House, which seemed more sinister the longer I looked at it, I saw other campers whispering and spreading the word. Some began to run to the Big House as well, but most stood anchored in place, their mouths agape. With my advanced hearing I managed to pick up some snippets of gossip and rumors:

"…killed someone."

"…died."

"…disease took over."

I tried to block out the words, but they rattled inside my skull as I scaled the stairs leading up to the porch in one quick leap and threw the door open. A bunch of Apollo kids were pacing worriedly in the main room and one of the newer campers, a twelve-year-old boy named Seth, ushered me down the hall and towards the storage room that Jason was in. We didn't say a word as the desperate shouts of the more experienced Apollo campers rang from the room. I tried to control my breathing and my heart, which was hammering in my chest so hard that it hurt.

Seth stopped by the door and motioned me inside, the gesture clearly saying: _This is as far as I go. _With shaky hands, I turned the knob and listened as Seth's footsteps faded down the hall. I took in a shuddering breath and opened the door, screwing my eyes shut. When I was finally able to peek I expected to see blood all over the place and a mangled corpse of either Jason or another camper, but there was no blood.

The cage door was ajar, the lock hacked open by a sword. Jason lay in the center of the room, unmoving. His face was peaceful and his eyes were closed. My stomach dropped. He looked dead; his skin was very, very pale, almost the color of milk, but that's not what set me off. The green veins that had spider-webbed up and down his arms and around his face were gone. It was just pale skin and bones.

Jason's shirt had been removed and I made a strangled sound when I saw that every single one of his ribs was deeply defined. His arms and legs were sticks and his face was gaunt and almost corpse-like. But with his eyes closed, you didn't see the gaping hole where one of his eyes had been and the Apollo kids had cleaned all of the dried blood off of him. They even changed his pants. He seemed so alive and dead at the same time. His hair hadn't grown back yet, but his scalp looked less marred, with only the faint white scars to indicate that he had torn all of his hair out.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked. My voice was trembling. Will Solace walked up to me. His face was grim.

"His vitals are sluggish; his heart rate is beating four times slower than it should. His breathing is so shallow it's as if he's not breathing at all. He's still alive, but barely; he's in a coma of some sort. We're not sure if he's going to wake up or not.

I sat next to the cot that Jason was in and held his hand, massaging the pale, cold skin with my thumbs. I couldn't look at his face, so I stared at my shoes. I couldn't even take another glimpse at all of the tubes and appliances he was hooked up to. A machine was breathing for him. One was pumping his heart. Another supplied him with blood. He was only alive because pieces of machinery were doing things for him. He'd been in the coma for three days now and I'd been at his bedside for all three.

"Talk to him." I jumped and looked up to see Chiron, his features pained and his eyes stormy.

"What?" I asked. I was surprised at how hoarse and depressing my voice sounded.

"Talk to him. Nine out of ten times coma patients can still hear you."

"But he's…dying. He'd be dead if he wasn't hooked up to all of these apparatuses." I managed to choke. A tear streaked down my face as I was finally able to make myself look at the thin form of what was once the optimistic, happy-go-lucky, strong, noble, and selfless Jason Grace. A long tube had been inserted into his mouth that went all the way down his throat and supplied him with oxygen. His eyes were still closed, but his missing eye had been covered by an eye patch. A bunch of tubes sprouted from his arms and pads of all sorts that were connected to wires dotted his chest and monitored his vitals, which were all going slow. I could count the seconds in between his heartbeats.

_Beep. _

_One Mississippi. Two Mississippi. Three Mississippi_

_Beep _

"Still, you should speak to him. Even if he can't hear you. Tell him about your day or how you're training is going." Chiron suggested. "He won't judge. Even if he wasn't in a coma he wouldn't judge. He's not a judgmental person." I was thankful for the fact that Chiron had used present tense to describe Jason, unlike others who said stuff like "Jason _was_ so funny" or "Jason _was_ a great guy."

"I've been with him all day. He knows what happened already." I said quietly and gripped Jason's hand tightly. I gave it a reassuring squeeze, but even though I knew it wasn't going to happen I was crestfallen when he didn't squeeze back. I was so focused on Jason that I didn't see that Chiron had trotted out and had been replaced by two other campers. Annabeth and Will.

Annabeth pulled up another chair and stroked my back while Will filled a syringe full of nectar and injected it into Jason's arm. We gave him an injection every day with hopes that it would speed up the waking process. Chiron had said if the potion that Piper, Percy, and Leo were out to find did not wake him, they would pull the plug and Jason's soul would finally be free.

"I miss him too." Annabeth's voice was soft. "I also miss Percy, but at least I know that he's safe. Jason…Jason has a foot in the grave, but the real question is will he be able to take it out. He's strong. I know he'll be able to do it. You just have to believe in him."

I turned to the daughter of Athena. Her eyes were red from crying, but her voice was full of confidence. _You just have to believe in him. _The words rang in my ears and I looked at the pale, weak form of Jason on the cot. He didn't look so hot and he showed no signs of response. The machines breathed and beat his heart for him and he just stayed there on the bed, unmoving. One would've demanded that the plug be pulled on his poor tortured soul, but the reason I hadn't was because I believed. I believed that he could wake up, whether he wakes himself up or the cure that Percy, Jason, and Leo found would wake him up.

The vial made of Stygian glass had been shipped by Hermes himself to the three questers. Even he wanted Jason, one of the Heroes of Olympus, to survive. Annabeth and I sat in silence for a while, just listening to the beeps and pings of all of the machinery that was operating. Annabeth got up to leave since her Greek class, which she taught, was starting in five minutes. She murmured words of farewell to me, but I didn't respond.

It was late at night before I finally spoke up. "Jason." There was no reply. "Jason…everyone believes. They believe you can get better; that you can wake up. Don't let them down. Please. Annabeth believes, Will believes, and I certainly know that Percy, Piper, and Leo believe. I…I...I believe. I…believe." I leaned my head against the metal frame of the cot and allowed myself to slip into a very fitful sleep.

-Ω-

**Percy POV**

Three days. That's how long it took us to find the alfalfa. It took us a day to get to the Grand Canyon from Acadia and another two days to actually find the freaking plant. I'll just describe the last day, where one tour guide might've just saved Jason's life.

We had been dirty and smelly when we'd arrived; not having taken a shower since we began the quest had taken a toll on us, on top of the fact that from the ankles down we were covered in dried mud from sloshing around on the bottom of the Thunder Hole. We'd parked Festus at the bottom of the canyon and bathed in the shallower and less strong areas of the river, and that had helped slightly. Of course we bathed with our clothes on! You and your dirty mind.

Festus was taking a break and resting his gears in the place where we'd set up camp, but not after he'd delivered us not far from a tour group. Tired and hungry from yesterday's search, we'd decided that a little tour wouldn't hurt the least bit. The tour guide blabbered on about how the river at the bottom had carved out the steep cliffs and the canyon's history. It was all very educational and interesting, but between the fact that I have severe ADHD and that we weren't here to sightsee; we were here to get a plant that would save our friends' life made things rather uninteresting.

We took a tour through a museum, where Piper and Leo had claimed Dylan had locked the rest of their class at the Wilderness School in when he and the other venti had attacked them. The Glass Bridge was newly repaired after that incident and it was cool, I guess. I saw the river snaking under us like a gigantic, blue python and I felt the familiar rush that children of Poseidon get when there's a water source nearby or in sight. Birds circled and flew below, varying from small, indistinguishable little smudges to huge vultures. I ignored all of that, though. _Plant, plant, plant. _A voice chanted over and over in my mind. I scanned the canyon below, but didn't see any sparkling herb whatsoever.

"Surprisingly, there is some alfalfa growing in the Grand Canyon. Scientists and Park Rangers, including myself, are baffled at how it got here in the first place, but we are monitoring its growth just in case it's an invasive species that will wipe out all the other sparse plant life here. So far, it shows no signs of growing any further."

Our attention snapped to the tour guide, who seemed oblivious to the fact that he'd just helped save a person's life. Piper seized her chance. Pouring a little charmspeak into her voice, she asked, "Do you know where the alfalfa grows? Can we get to it?" The man's eyes became glazed.

"Yes. It grows at the summit of Bright Angel Point, which is a hike that is open to the public." The tour guide replied in a rather monotone voice. Leo, Piper, and I exchanged a look.

"Thank you, sir." Piper said quickly and we dashed off of the bridge. We barged through tourists, who shouted pretty offensive things at us in a multitude of different languages. Leo produced the remote with the button on it that summoned Festus and ponded on it with his fists.

"We have to jump." Leo shouted.

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" I shrieked. "WE'LL GET KILLED!"

"Just do it!" As we reached the edge of the cliff I nearly hesitated, but I'd done even dumber stuff, so I just closed my eyes tight and leapt off of the side of the Grand Canyon, with Piper and Leo in hot pursuit.

I felt my stomach drop as I summersaulted through empty air. Some tourists shouted and pointed at us as we fell, exclaiming something that was lost over the vicious roar and howl of the wind in my ears. Fear gripped my heart like an icy hand and I struggled to keep myself steady. If I hit the ground on my head, or even hit the ground at all for that matter, I would be a Percy pancake. Hopefully a _blue_ Percy pancake. If anything happened, I could just control the water at the bottom and cushion our fall, but that wasn't needed as Festus seemed to swoop out of nowhere and caught us on his back.

"Never. Doing. That. Again." Piper hissed as Leo steered Festus through the Canyon. Even if the metal dragon's wingspan was huge, the Canyon was huger. Festus could soar through it easily without any worry of hitting the sides. Leo's hair was a mess, not that it wasn't always a mess, but it stuck up in some places and even rivaled some of the hairdos from the eighties. He was grinning maniacally, though, so I knew that everything was alright with him.

I was rattled. Even in that short minute of falling I had been truly panicked and afraid. As Festus shot into the sky and launched himself towards Bright Angel Point, I couldn't get the tingling feeling of free-falling out of my head. I'd hated heights, but I hated them even more now. I can't even begin to explain how terrified I had been in those few moments.

"Here we are. Bright Angel Point!" Piper announced as Festus dropped us onto an overhang and flew off. I sucked in a breath; this was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen since we came here. The carved cliffs stretched out as far as he eye could see. The rocky plain stretched below us and birds soared and dived energetically as the sun touched the horizon. There was a railing, but all it took was one careless child to try and sit on the bar and they would be sent plummeting to their deaths. Who knew something so beautiful could be so deadly.

Leo looked around and frowned. "There's no plant." He stated blandly.

"Thanks Captain Obvious." I snorted and put my hands on my hips. It was true. There was no alfalfa in sight, especially not a glowing, sparkly alfalfa.

"The tour guide said it would be here." Piper exclaimed, her eyes scanning the wide expanse of land that opened up before us. I groaned.

"Let's get looking before we waste yet another day." I sighed and trudged down the path that led up to Bright Angel Point. I turned around and asked, "Let's start at the top and work our way down the cliff. If worse comes to worse we'll plummet to our deaths. What does alfalfa look like again?"

"Thanks for that wonderful image, Perce. Alfalfa has purple flowers with deep green, feathery leaves." Piper replied and jogged to catch up to me, Leo on her heels. We trudged down the path for what seemed like hours, but I knew that it was only just a few minutes. The ADHD was just making the time lapse seem longer. That's when Piper sucked in her breath.

I followed her gaze and suppressed a gasp. Standing in our path was a kilin. If this kilin was anything like Balthazar, he'd be obsessed with the Wild plant and try to kill us. Instead of the scales on its body being green, they were a deep indigo. Its golden lion's mane shimmered in the light of the setting sun and its long, jagged horn sent shivers racing up and down my spine. It could skewer us with that thing easily; it was as long as a spear and as sharp as a sword. If the kilin attacked us, Festus wouldn't be able to come to the rescue; we were in a narrow and rocky gorge that would prevent Festus from so much as squeezing in after us.

_Greetings, god spawn. _It told us in its bland, accent-less, telepathic voice. It was devoid of any sort of…how should I say this…gender-ness? I couldn't tell whether it was a male or a female and I certainly knew that the kilin would not take it lightly if I stooped down and checked.

"Um…greetings." I managed. My hand hovered over my pocket that Riptide was in, ready to draw it out if this kilin made any sudden moves. I had no idea why the only two kilins I'd ever seen had been by these Wild plants, but the one thing I couldn't shake off was the fact that I didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl. Maybe if I dropped Riptide on purpose and picked it up I could guess…dammit ADHD, get your act together.

_I know that you seek the Wild alfalfa. My brother Balthazar has spoken quite poorly of you. _It said, though I swear I heard a hint of aggressiveness in its tone, which was supposed to be emotionless. _My two other siblings, my sister Kadijah and my brother Sesotris, have watched over you as you harvested clippings from their Wild plants; the acacia and the wolfsbane. They knew it was for a good cause and they let you off lightly. Only Balthazar did his duty right, and I will show no less resistance. I will give you a chance to turn back now, for we, the Guardians of the Wild Plants, shall not let this slide. We are kilins, or another and more common pronunciation would also be Quilins, and we were chosen to watch over the Wild plants by Pan himself. We do not care for your measly human life; we are immortal and know that all life ends at a certain point. There are no exceptions. Turn back now or suffer the consequence; death. _

A fire suddenly began to blaze in my chest, fueled by compassion and anger. "You have no idea what it's like to lose a friend. You kilins, or Quilins, whatever, lack compassion and empathy and I know that just because you're not letting us though. Please," I begged, "our friend…he'll…he'll die if we don't get this plant we can save him. And he wasn't supposed to even die. He's been suffering for a long time; he was a part of a prophecy and had his life flipped upside down by a Hera. He didn't even get a break. He deserves a chance; he isn't dead yet but he's dying. We have the materials and we won't uproot the plant. Just a sample like a leaf or a flower. NO HARM DONE."

_Does it look like I care? _The kilin asked me and tossed its goat head, making its mane fall around its shoulders in a rather mesmerizing way. I swear there was a hint of mockery in its voice.

"Well you should." was all I could respond with. My voice was trembling and I clenched my fists. I felt tears welling up behind my eyes, but I blinked tem away as to not show weakness to this upstart kilin. How could it be so heartless and unsympathetic? Didn't it value life at all? Then again, it was immortal; it lived forever. We did not. I guess it didn't seem to use the term YOLO (Then again us demigods know that it's actually YOLOUYAEACR; you only live once unless you achieve Elysium and choose rebirth.) The kilin probably used the term YMMOLO; you measly mortals only live once. GOD DAMMIT AHD WE'RE IN A LIFE THREATENING SITUATION AND I'M THINKING ABOUT YOLO WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL!?

_And why is that? Why should I care? This is your business, not mine. This is your mortal world, not mine. _

"This is about a life. The most valued thing in all time. Man would choose life over gold and silver. Life is more precious than any of those metals. We need your plant to _save_ a life. You'd even pretend to care to show that you're not a heartless bastard. Don't be a bastard, just let us get the plant."

_I have no idea what those words mean but I suppose that they were intended to be offensive. I, Arashi, am four thousand years old. I am not up to date on the new slang these days. _

Arashi. That sounded fairly feminine, so I guessed that this Arashi was a female. She surely knew how to piss the hell out of people with her mystical telepathic voice and luscious, golden mane. Wow, who knew that girls could be so stubborn…wait all girls are stubborn.

**(A/N: As a girl I hope that I am correct, though if you're a girl and you're not stubborn I guess that you're an exception.)**

"UUUGGGGHHH! WE ARE GETTING _NOWHERE_!" Leo shouted and threw his hands into the air in an exasperated manner. "Let us go through. I really, really feel like crap and I really, really don't want to fight you." To prove his point, Leo set his palm ablaze, but the rather tired look on his face suggested that he was running low on energy, as were the rest of us.

_I am not a fan of fire, son of Hephaestus, and you are lucky that you are a fire-user, or both you and your friends' corpses would've joined those of generations upon generations of skillful warriors that have tried and failed to get past me. Follow. _And with that, she turned and trotted down the gorge. We trailed behind like shadows, watching her scaly hindquarters as she assumed a rather graceful gait. Her hooves treaded lightly and didn't even make a sound on the rocky ground, which made our echoing footsteps sound like nuclear bomb blasts.

"How did she know I was a son of Hephaestus?" Leo whispered harshly. It was clear that he was trying to keep his voice down, but with the silence in the gorge it sounded as loud as if he'd screamed it. Arashi looked back at us but didn't slow her pace. Her goat head had an expression of somewhat amusement and her black eyes littered with intelligence and power. She could kill us if she wanted to, but she was afraid of Leo's fire. Why would an all-powerful being be afraid of flames?

_I know all, Leo Henry Valdez. _She snorted. Leo sucked in a breath and grit his teeth in order to restrain a nasty retort.

"Really? _Henry_?" Piper scoffed and playfully punched Leo in the arm. The son of Hephaestus muttered some things in Spanish under his breath that I did not think were compliments towards kilins.

_I prefer to be called by my name or by the term kilin/Quilin. I am not a goat lizard lion thing. I find that to be beyond racist, Mr. Valdez. As I said, I know all. That means I KNOW ALL. EVEN SPANISH. Now close your mouth before you and your friends become a demigod-kebab. _Holy crap, this kilin sure had some lip. She could be the Queen of Sass for all I knew, but obviously nobody could surpass the sass level of yours truly.

We walked in silence and whenever someone made a peep Arashi would turn and glare at us with her black eyes that seemed to bore into your soul. I didn't doubt that she could easily read my mind and rifle through all of my thought and memories as if I were a storage cabinet, though I doubt she'd be able to 'rifle' through it with her having hooves and all. The rocky walls of the gorge became narrower and narrower until we were forced to walk in single-file. Arashi was still in the lead and I brought up the rear, but I could tell that Arashi was almost barely small enough to fit through the narrow walls, and she was only the size of a large stag.

Finally the gorge widened out into a huge clearing. Rocky walls towered above us and fully encircled the oval-shaped area. There were no other exits besides the passage we had just emerged from and there wasn't any plant life in sight. Was this a trap? I shoved the thought away. Even if it was a trap, we outnumbered Arashi 3 vs 1 and one of us was a fire-user and Arashi had said that she hated fire.

"Where are we?" Piper finally asked after an agonizing few minutes of complete and utter silence.

_This is sacred ground, daughter of the love goddess. If you look closely you can almost see the large quantity of Mist that is obscuring this place from mortal eyes, some layers being thousands of years old and created by the Primordial gods themselves. _Arashi explained, her voice clear as day in my mind, yet she had not made a single sound. _You are here for the alfalfa, are you not? _The three of us nodded. I swear that Arashi smiled, a very twisted, maniacal smile. _Then find it. But beware, demigods. If you choose wrong there are far worse consequences than death. _

I was dumbfounded "What do you-?" But she was gone. As if she'd never been there in the first place.

Leo scoffed, "This is obviously juts to throw us off, c'mon guys lets-" We all turned back to the exit, but all we saw was a rocky wall. It had disappeared. I began to panic; we were trapped and who knows how long Jason had left? We couldn't take forever; we also had to find Agamede in the Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. We didn't have the time! For a few hours we scouted the perimeter, trying to find the way out. We always tried to clamber up the slope, but it was steep as well as rocky and no experience on the rock climbing wall back at Camp Half-Blood could help us scale it.

Leo attempted to call Festus to pick us up, but the layers of Mist disguising this place from the mortal eye made it impossible for the signal to reach the metal dragon. Besides, if we left we'd be leaving with no plant and no plant meant no cure and no cure meant dead Jason.

"C'mon Jackson! Push!" Leo ordered as I tried to hoist him up over the ledge of a huge rock. He scrambled for a handhold, which only made it harder to keep a firm grip on him. My knees buckled under Leo's weight and we both went tumbling down the rocky slope, shouting and cursing. Despite his height, Leo was so freaking heavy that it was quite ridiculous. I know; the almighty Perseus Jackson can defeat titans and giants but can't lift up a scrawny Latino kid? So much for my ego. I was glad I didn't get a concussion as I landed on my butt. I wiped sweat off of my forehead with a rather grimy and dirty hand, but that's when Leo came crashing down on top of me. I groaned as he sat up, looking around.

"Anyone seen Percy?" he asked in mock confusion. He pretended to look around. "He was right here a moment ago." I groaned again and Leo hopped off of me. The cushion, which just so happened to be me, had saved him from the brunt of the impact. I, on the other hand, was winded from Leo's crash-land onto me and I was scraped, bruised and cut, not to mention filthy.

"Guys?" Piper squeaked. Leo and I turned and gasped. In the center of the clearing, which had been barren before, were ten plants. Each looked exactly alike; all of them were alfalfa. Their feathery leaves fluttered in the slight, hot, steamy wind and their stems swayed back and forth in a mesmerizing way. Their flowers, which were in full bloom, were a light purple; almost like the background color of an SPQR banner only a lot lighter.

"Well let's just trim all of them and maybe the way out will appear again." Leo suggested and began to strut over to the alfalfa with obvious intentions.

Before he could lean down and pluck a few flowers off of one, I screamed, "No!" Leo stumbled back onto his but as if someone had slapped him. He whirled on me and glared.

"WHAT!?" he snarled. "Why can't we just trim the freaking plants and leave? Why does there always have to be an objection, huh Jackson?" That's when I realized how much this Jason thing was affecting him; Jason was his best friend, after all. Of course he wanted to get this over with as fast as possible in order to cure his friend. It must've felt awful to lose a friend as close as Jason.

Thankfully, Piper cut in for me. Pouring in a little charmspeak to calm him down, she explained, "It's not always that easy, Leo. Arashi had said that if we choose wrong the consequences will be far worse than death. I know what she means now. If we trim the wrong plant, something bad is going to happen and I don't want to find out what it is. We have to choose wisely and carefully." Leo and I nodded in agreement and turned to the ten alfalfa plants.

Nighttime was settling over the Grand Canyon and the stars twinkled overhead like little lights. The moon cast a blue-white glow onto everything and the rocky terrain caused the shadows to be in all sorts of peculiar shapes. I chewed on my lip. This was it. What did Wild plants have in common that the true Wild alfalfa needed? Did they grow where they weren't supposed to? Check. They sparkled? All of the plants seemed to shimmer in the light of the moon. GOD DAMMIT MOON YOU'RE MESSSING STUFF UP.

"Ugh. I can't tell. What about you?" I asked, the question pointed towards Leo, who shook his head forlornly. Piper had her brows furrowed in thought and we waited as she seemed to contemplate the meaning of the universe. That's when her kaleidoscope eyes lit up.

"That's it!" she cried, making Leo and I leap back in astonishment. Leo made a gesture that clearly stated that she should continue, so she did, "Arashi said that she wasn't a fan of fire, right?" The two of us nodded. "Well the plants seem to only appear at nighttime, which makes it impossible to figure out which one of them is sparkling. If Leo creates fire, that light cancels out the moonlight that makes all of the plants sparkle, thus solving the mystery! That's why Arashi doesn't like fire; it's not that she's scared of it, it's just that it's the only answer to her riddle sort-of thing."

"Piper, you're a genius." I say and Piper smiled; a genuine, happy smile. Her eyes reflected sadness, though. I was probably the odd man out on this quest; I wasn't Jason's close friend or love interest and I didn't really hang out with him as much as I hung out with some of my other friends. Sure, we were really tightly knit after fighting together in the final battle, but I wasn't as close to him as I was to Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Nico, or even Piper and Leo. Of course I felt horrible about the entire fact that Jason was so close to dying, but I could live a thousand lifetimes and never be as affected as piper and Leo were now.

"Leo? Will you please?" Piper asked and the son of Hephaestus obliged; setting his palm ablaze with orange and yellow flame that danced and flickered across his palm and his fingers. Leo concentrated harder and the flames rose until it was a wild blaze that illuminated the entire clearing. He walked over and held it up over the plants, casting them in a warm orange glow rather than a milky silver one.

Piper and I inspected each plant carefully, checking for any signs of sparkles. I swore I saw one twinkle, but it was gone just as soon as I saw it. It was just a trick of the eye. We tried to search for some sign that any of them was the true Wild alfalfa, but found none. All ten of the alfalfa plants were regular and rigged with some sort of horrible trap! Was this some sort of sick joke? I stomped my feet in frustration and Piper rubbed her temples agitatedly. Things never seemed to go right for us. Sweat had begun beading on Leo's forehead from supplying the blazing fire for so long and he'd need a break sooner or later, but that would mean that we'd have to wait until tomorrow night to search for the alfalfa again.

That's when he gasped. The son of Hephaestus clearly was trying to signal us with something, but speaking would just waste his energy and he was holding the fire in both hands, so he gestured wildly with his eyes. We followed his gaze and I heard Piper's sharp intake of breath. By a heap of rocks, sparkling in the firelight, was the Wild alfalfa. Arashi had set this up so that none of the choices that were presented before you were the right one and you had to search outside the box. There it was in its full glory, the last plant to our quest. The last plant that we needed before we had a cure.

Piper swiftly leapt onto the rock pile and plucked a few shimmering purple flowers from the plant, leaving almost all of the rest alone. Leo was finally able to extinguish the flames and he collapsed into a heap, panting heavily. "Worth it." He breathed, a smile playing on his lips. He graciously took the alfalfa flowers and placed them into his tool belt to join the other three plants.

"Hey look, the pathway is back." I exclaimed. It was true; the pathway had reappeared after Piper had picked the alfalfa as if it had been there the entire time, which it certainly had not been. That sneaky little bastard was always disappearing on us; it had to get its act together if it wanted people to walk down it, though I doubted that pathways could have any sort of desire.

As we retraced our steps, I swore I saw a flash of indigo scales and the glimpse of a goatish face, but I blinked and the image was gone. It was probably a trick of the moonlight or something. We basically had to drag Leo back to Festus; the fire had sapped a lot of his energy and he needed a rest. Scrap that, we all needed a rest. We were tired, hungry, and beyond filthy. I didn't care about any of that though; all I could sense was the bubbling excitement that was rising up inside of me. All four plants down; now all we had to do was find a creepy witch lady and we'd be set.


	17. Agamede

**(A/N) I am a very, very, very horrible person. I cannot describe how horrible I feel. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own pjo**

Chapter Sixteen: Agamede

**Piper POV**

The wind buffeted my hair as Festus circled over the entrance to Mammoth Cave. Hundreds of tourists were gathered below; milling around to snap pictures in front of the cave entrance. I was surprised at how small and rather uninteresting the opening was. One wouldn't guess that it led to one of the biggest underground cave systems in the world. I wondered how humankind discovered it; it just looked like a regular cave that a bear would sleep in and it was concealed very well amidst bushes and trees.

A catwalk limited the places you could step and wound into the darkness of the Mammoth Cave. Festus daintily landed in front of the cave entrance. Mortals that had been passing by pointed and exclaimed something while snapping pictures of three kids riding on a metal dragon. We must look like a dragon-shaped rock or something through the Mist.

As soon as the three of us dismounted, Festus took to the skies to explore. I hoped he didn't burn any forests or villages while we found the creepy witch lady, but he seemed well-behaved four our last four trips. I couldn't believe that this was happening; we had collected all the plants and we were so close to getting the Dziki potion that I could almost smell it. Percy, Leo, and I jumped the railing of the catwalk and made our way down into the depths of the cave. Mortals that had been nearby blinked a few times and they shook their heads dismissively, as if we had just materialized in front of them. Thankfully the Mist made sure that our cover wasn't blown.

We tagged along the back of a tour group and watched in awe as stalagmites and stalactites sprung from the floor and ceiling like jagged spires. We descended into the blackness and our only source of light was the occasional electric bulb. The tour guide showed us all of the rock formations and notable attractions around the huge cave. It was all pretty cool, but we had to get to Agamede and fast. We saw underwater lakes, huge chasms, arching stone ceilings that were completely natural, bats, spiders (Annabeth would freak), and even some small lizards that had wandered inside.

We gawked at the sheer size of it, but then again it was so big that it would be nearly impossible to find the entrance to Agamede's lair. The tour guide pointed out specific types of rocks, stalagmites, and stalactites as the procession made its way along the catwalk. Sometimes the catwalk gave way into narrow tunnels of sheer and cold stone, but it always came back again. At one part the narrow tunnels gave way to a huge room that you could walk around in.

I ran my fingers over the smooth, gray stone. It was cold to the touch. My breath came out in puffs of steam; it was at least several degrees colder in Mammoth Cave than up above; we were underground after all. I wondered if Hades was going to open a huge abyss under our feet for trespassing in "his territory" just like how Zeus would shoot planes out of the sky and Poseidon would sink ships. Percy and Leo wandered nearby, gazing at the wide expanse of cave. It was so big that it gave me a little vertigo.

Leo cupped his hands over his mouth and said, in a rather loud voice, "Echo!"

"Echo!" came the cave's reply. Some other people who were touring gave him dirty looks. Their gaze turned to me as if to say _Keep him under control, young lady. He's your friend. _I only shrugged, which made them even more aggravated. The tour guide called us over and we continued the tour. The more and more the tour progressed, the more and more dread that pressed against my chest like an anvil. It seemed to smother me as the anxiety gripped my heart like an icy fist. The tour was winding down. The tour guide seemed to speak with finality in his voice and with a sort of perk to it, as if he were thinking about all the things he could do when he was able to quit his job.

I wouldn't understand why anyone would want to quit a job of touring these beautiful caverns, but then again he probably had gotten used to the experience and it may get a little repetitive if I did say so myself. That's when Leo yelped and leapt back. Several people turned and plagued us with rather irritated and concerned looks, but Percy waved them off. The tour continued on and we stayed behind. Leo waited until the tour had disappeared around a corner to speak.

"Look!" he exclaimed in a loud whisper and pointed to a mark on the wall. Percy made a sour face.

"You made that racket all because of a mark on the wall? C'mon Leo, we already look like idiots. Let's go catch up to the tour." The son of Poseidon turned to follow the tour, but I grabbed his arms.

"No." I said and my brows knit together. "He's on to something." Leo looked rather proud of himself as he puffed out his chest. Percy just rolled his eyes, but listened intently when I gave him an explanation. "See?" I asked, tracing over the mark on the wall. "It's an omega. Not just a coincidence; it is a perfect omega, carved into the stone. It couldn't possibly have been natural."

At this Percy raised his eyebrows. Even being as short as he was, he still had to bend down to take a better look at it. "You're right. It is an omega."

"It probably leads to Agamede's lair." Leo suggested and the two of us nodded in agreement with the son of Hephaestus' statement.

"The only problem is, how do we open it?" I inquired.

Leo whistled, "I did not think of that one." We pondered in silence for a few moments, listening as the hushed chatter of our tour group faded as the distance between us lengthened. Pretty soon all that was left were the echoes. Piper thought back to when they were still questing; Leo and Hazel's encounter with Echo the nymph had surely sounded interesting.

The moment she thought about Hazel, she wished she hadn't. My heart wrenched as overwhelming loneliness consumed me. I missed Hazel and Frank so much, but they had chosen to go back to Camp Jupiter, and I didn't blame them for their decision; Frank was now a praetor along with Reyna and that was where they had spent most of their days. They didn't want to live amongst strangers that learned about "different" gods and spoke another language rather than Latin. It would've been so alien to them.

The only problem is that when I thought about missing Hazel and Frank, grief washed over me in a wave. I missed Jason even more. I missed him so much that I couldn't take it. I had to be with him again. I had to talk to him again; feel his lips on mine again. It was all too much to handle; he was probably in the process of dying and going insane at the same time. _We're so close. _I chided myself. _Don't let the sorrow and pessimistic thoughts overtake you this late in the game. _

"Piper! Hello! Beauty Queen!" I jolted out of my reverie with a start as Leo repeated my name and waved his hand in front of my face experimentally.

"Sorry I was…recalling things." Leo snorted at this, but Percy nodded in understanding. He probably knew what it was like to get caught up in memories, whereas Leo liked to focus on the present and would gladly discuss the future, but he didn't like remembering the past that much at all.

"So I thought that maybe all of us had to put our hands on the omega at once and then maybe the passage would be revealed." Percy filled me in on what I had lost while I had been off in la-la land. I shrugged. Any idea was a good idea when it came to this stupid quest. I placed my hand on the omega and Percy placed his hand to the right of mine and Leo placed his hand to the left. The omega began to pulse with an orange light and we stumbled back as the cave roof rumbled lowly.

With a mighty crack the wall split in half to reveal another narrow passageway that was lined with torches that burned with purple fire. This was definitely the right place. Percy motioned for us to stay as he drew Riptide. The Celestial Bronze sword glowed dimly in the partial darkness. His head on a swivel and his spine stiff; his posture rather alert, he prowled through the tunnel. The purple light illuminated his raven black hair with purple streaks.

Percy turned around and gave a thumbs up. Hesitantly, Leo and I followed. Through the corridor we walked, our demigod senses on edge; sensing any traps that may be nearby. Either our demigod senses were horrible or Agamede hadn't intended to slaughter all of the demigods that managed to get this far. _That would be great. _I thought miserably. _We come this far only to be killed by a Goddamn trap. Even worse, Agamede will refuse us. _I immediately scolded myself for thinking so pessimistically.

The corridor was really, really long. I couldn't even see the end of it. The purple torches crackled and spluttered as we walked past; their torch holders shaped like clawed hands. I shivered, but not because of the cold. This was already creepy.

"Hey, has anyone else realized that the walls are getting darker?" Leo pointed out. I looked around and make a strangled sound in my throat; the normal dull gray of stone was melting away to be replaced by glittering obsidian. Percy gulped but continued to lead the way down the corridor. The volcanic glass gleamed menacingly in the torchlight.

"Careful, guys. That stuff is really sharp." The son of Poseidon warned as Leo reached out to touch the wall. It wasn't like the walls were smooth or anything. In fact, the _stone_ walls had been smoother than the obsidian walls. The obsidian walls were cut like diamonds would be and whenever you looked into it your reflection was cast back in a kaleidoscope of morphed versions of you.

We continued on our journey and after what seemed like hours the corridor finally gave way to a huge room with a domed ceiling. I gasped and my hand covered my mouth as vertigo consumed me with nausea. It was just so big and beautiful; the obsidian walls and ceiling glimmered and the floor was made of shiny silver. The only thing that took away from the beauty was how the room was set up.

Cauldrons full of bubbling green liquid hung on thick chains over wood that was burning with bright green fire. Assortments of jars and boxes were placed on shelves that lined the walls; eyeballs and preserved animal guts and organs floated around in thick, brownish liquid and some of the boxes were labeled "Sheep hearts" and "Monkey brains." I doubt it was a joke.

"This is the reason I'm a vegetarian." I gagged.

"I can see why now." Leo mumbled under his breath in obvious effort to keep his past meal down. I looked around some more. There were tables lined with thick open books. The pages were yellowed with age and it was written in another language that gave off an ancient vibe; even more ancient than Greek. A frog with a lizard's head flicked its forked tongue in and out from inside its mesh cage. A bright yellow parakeet with two sets of wings fluttered around and squawked a greeting. I shrieked and clung to Percy as a black cat with two heads hissed at us with its two mouths in perfect unison with each other. Its four intelligent, yellow eyes bored into us judgmentally. It laid its ears back and hissed once more as it scampered away.

"Greetings; welcome to the Raven's Crest." Came a rather old and hollow voice. _They will travel to the Raven's Crest/ Where they will find the key to the Shadow's quest. _The lines from the prophecy rang through my head loud and clear. I realized that a figure draped in a black shawl had been looking over one of the books interestedly. I had completely skipped over her, though I had no idea how. Something told me that she had just appeared out of thin air. "What do you seek, young demigods?"

Percy held his head high. "We are here for a Dziki potion, Agamede. We have traveled far and wide just to get here." His voice was very confident, though I knew that he was actually terrified on the inside…at least, _I_ was terrified on the inside. Agamede laughed; a rather hoarse sound but still a laugh all the same.

"Silly demigods. One cannot just make a Dziki potion without the proper ingredients." She chided us. "Come back when you have all of the elements and then we'll talk."

"We already have them." Surprisingly, it was Leo who spoke. His footsteps rang throughout the large room as he walked over to the shawled figure and placed the ingredients in front of her, along with the Stygian glass vial. "A sample of acacia, Aloe, wolfsbane, and alfalfa; all of them are Wild. The vial is Stygian glass, which is strong enough to whole the potent potion."

"Interesting." Agamede said, stroking the purple flower of the wolfsbane that didn't seem the least bit ruffled by being in Leo's tool belt. "It seems that you have a purpose for making this potion. You had to get through the Guardians of the Wild Plants. It must've been quite a you had to go to the underworld-"

"It was hard indeed, but we didn't go into the underworld. We have an…acquaintance that got us the vial. Our friend has been infected with a disease." I say.

"What sort of disease? It obviously must be serious if he or she needs a healing potion as powerful as a Dziki potion. Cancer? Ebola? AIDS?" Agamede asked. The edges of her old woman voice were brimmed with curiosity.

"Ever heard of the Shadow's Song?" There was silence for a few moments before Agamede spoke again.

"It is serious." She said finally. The three of us nodded in agreement. Agamede closed the book that she had absently been tracing a gnarled finger over as if she were reading it. "You see, the Shadow's Song isn't a normal disease."

"We've noticed." Percy told her, but there wasn't a single hint of sarcasm anywhere in his voice.

"I know that it is a disease of the godly world since it targets children of Zeus and Jupiter, but that's not what makes it unique." She walked over to another book. This one was thicker than the others and his had a leather-bound cover that was embroidered with Greek symbols in gold thread. Our eyes followed her movements as she flipped through the yellow pages with little need to glace at the contents. She probably already had it memorized.

Agamede continued, "The Shadow's Song is what I like to call a parasitic disease; not quite a parasite but not all disease either. You see, once infected the victim begins to be visited by a manifestation of the disease that the Shadow's Song has created, the parasite part of the sickness; the disease specifically targets the part of the brain that houses fears and sadly, after they have created their manifestation, the rest of the brain becomes a target as well." Agamede stopped on a page and put her finger on the title at the top of the page. I sucked in a breath. Τραγούδι Τησ σκιάσ; the Shadow's Song.

There were more words in Greek on there, but they were too small to read from my position. "The parasite usually tries bribery first. They act friendly and try to convince the victim to give them control. If the victim refuses, which is most often, the parasite will resort to torturing them until they forcibly gain control. If they weren't given control, the disease cannot kill them. But your poor friend…what's his name?" Agamede questioned.

"Jason. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter." Leo replied. His voice was trembling.

Agamede whistled, "Well then the stakes are even higher, aren't they? The son of Jupiter needs to be saved, eh? And he's one of the seven. So I assume that you are Piper Mclean, Leo Valdez, and the infamous Perseus Jackson. Your 'acquaintance' that got you the Stygian glass vial was probably none other than Nico di Angelo himself." We nodded. Agamede continued and this time I swore that her voice was filled with admiration, "Well, Jason must've been driven to the edge of inanity inside his subconscious if he needs the Dziki potion. Trust me, he was trying to fight. They, the victims, always try, but it is constantly a losing battle." The three of us drew in a sharp intake of breath. Jason was tortured inside his own head and we were helpless when it came to helping him.

"Anyways, this Jason fellow gave up and the disease began to control his body. I suspect he was acting strange? Mumbling to himself, talking about dancing and singing shadows, homicidal tendencies, self-harm…sort of?" We nodded and Agamede sighed, skimming her finger over the words on the page. "That's how the Shadow's Song gets its name. The disease causes wild hallucinations of dancing and singing shadows. Of course they are supposedly 'good' hallucinations; there's no scare in these visions.

"Eventually, though, the disease pushes its host to the back of the subconscious so that they are basically watching the parasite control them. The only problem is that if the parasite has killed your friend inside his subconscious, he is gone forever. If he was driven insane, he'll be insane forever. What goes on inside a victim's head doesn't stay inside a victim's head. That's the hardest part of giving them the cure; bearing the fact that they may not be themselves once the parasitic disease is removed."

"So you're saying the Dziki potion will free him of this 'parasitic disease'?" Percy asked hopefully.

Agamede nodded. I couldn't see her face under the hood of her shawl, but by the look of her milk-white skin and gnarly, wrinkly hands and fingers with chipped nails it was probably best if she kept it on. "Not only will the Dziki potion kill the disease, but it will also quote unquote 'free' the victim. After being trapped in the subconscious, it is nearly impossible for the victim to escape. The victim is capable of killing the parasite, but they are still stuck inside their own head. This will help them take control of their own body.

"If Jason has killed the parasite part of the disease, he'll slip into a coma. He'll be unresponsive, unmoving. He can't speak, breathe, do his business, or have his heart pump without a machine doing it for him. It's what mortals like to call 'brain dead.' If he is in a coma when you get back, that is excellent. But that doesn't mean that Jason isn't insane or scarred. Forget that; it's less likely that he'll be driven insane," The three of us let out a breath that we hadn't known we were holding.

I nearly hoped that everything would be alright, but that was before Agamede opened her mouth again, "but it is positive that he will be scarred. He will not talk for a few weeks. He won't eat or drink either and now that he is running his own body, he _needs _sustenance, so you're going to have to force it down his throat. Suicide attempts are often, so you have to keep a watchful eye on him. Even after he's 'fully' recovered, he will never be the same again. Really in the end all will fail. Sure, you'll get Jason back, but he won't be the same Jason that you knew before."

_They will fight long and hard but to no prevail/In the end all will fail._ The last two lines fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Jason wasn't going to die it's just that he won't be the same. I nearly sighed as a huge burden that I had no idea I was carrying lifted off of my shoulders. I felt so light; as if I could take off into the sky, but I had to stay serious. Percy and Leo had looks of genuine relief on their faces as well.

"So can you make the potion? The clock is ticking. He doesn't have much time." I urged. Agamede sighed and clasped her hands together.

"Here's the thing, young demigods," she began. _Oh no. There's a catch. There's always a catch. _I thought sadly. "I'm not asking for a price or anything; you've already gone through the trouble of getting the ingredients and coming here," The three of us sighed with relief, but Agamede held up a hand for silence, "The thing with the Dziki potion is that…" he voice trailed off.

"Is what?" Percy's voice was strained. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trickled down his face even though it was really cold. I prepared for the worst as Agamede took a deep breath. She was about to break some bad news to us; I knew that warning breath. My dad always used to do that whenever he found out that I'd been stealing stuff.

"It takes two days to properly mix the ingredients in order to make the potion work and it takes another two…" she paused, "months for the mixture to cure. Then when I pour it into the Stygian glass vial it would take another two days for the potion to get used to its new environment."

Leo make a strangled sound in his throat and clasped his hands, looking down at them to make sure that nobody saw the glassiness of his eyes. Percy's hand flew to his mouth and a single tear trickled down his cheek. There was no hope. No hope for Jason; the potion would take too long to brew and by then he'd be dead. I hate to admit that I was writing his eulogy in my head while crying silently. A shaking sob managed to slip out of my mouth and Percy put a hand on my shoulder.

"Is…is there any way to make it go faster?" Leo asked. His voice was hoarse and sounded rather broken. Agamede shook her head sadly.

"There is, but if I narrowed down the process it would only take two hours." The three of us perked up at this.

"Two hours?" I said hopefully.

"The part where the potion gets rid of the parasite is the part that makes the process so long. If I took that away and made the Dziki potion only able to give him control of his body again, then it would only take two hours. Do you know if your friend has defeated the parasite part of the disease yet?" We shook our heads and Agamede twiddled her thumbs tensely. "That's bad. If it I take the disease-fighting part away and the Shadow's Song is still inside Jason then there are no do-overs; your friend is as good as dead."

Percy, Leo, and I exchanged a look. Silently, we conversed. We knew the risk, but it was likely that Jason had fought off the parasite by now; he was strong, he was able to do it. But that still was flimsy information to stand by. If we were wrong than Jason would die. But he would die if we didn't give him the potion, so it would be a lose-lose situation.

Finally, Percy broke away from us and turned to an expectant Agamede. In a strong, confident, hopeful voice that contained all of his pain and care for his friend, he announced, "Agamede, we will take our chances."


	18. The Return

**A/N) OMG THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITING THAT IS!? BUT IT IS ALSO HORRIBLY SAD BECAUSE I WON'T BE ABLE TO SUPPLY YOU GUYS WITH ANY MORE GORY ADVENTURES OF THE SHADOW'S SONG. *sobs uncontrollably* THIS IS SO SAD; THIS IS MY MOST SUCESSFUL FANFICTION EVER AND THIS IS THE END OF IT. **

*****FOR ALL OF YOU WHO WERE TOO LAZY TO READ THAT LAST PARAGRAPH THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE SHADOW'S SONG.*****

*****I WANT EVERYONE WHO HAS FOLLOWED/FAVED OR EVEN JUST READ THIS STORY TO POST A REVIEW FOR THE LAST CHAPTER. PLEASE?*****

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO**

Chapter Seventeen: The Return

**Nico POV**

"Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" I screamed to the Apollo kids as they bustled around Jason's bed, pulling out tubes and wires and removing the long breathing tube from his throat. Percy, Piper, and Leo stood off to the side, their expressions somewhat relieved. They were covered in dirt and grime, as was Festus when they had returned a half hour ago, but they forfeited their showers and new sets of clothing for spots by Jason's bedside.

"Do you think it will work?" Leo asked Piper and Percy worriedly.

"Of course it will work." Piper snapped. "Agamede said that a coma meant that he had killed the parasite portion of the disease. It had to work. It just has to." Her voice cracked and she looked down at her hands.

Jason, on the other hand, looked like a dead body. His skin was paler now that he wasn't receiving the air and heartbeat he needed. Ten minutes. The Apollo kids only had ten minutes to make sure the conditions were right and feed Jason the potion before Jason went brain dead.

Were we pulling the plug on Jason? Of course not! Percy, Piper, and Leo reported that we had to remove all of the tubes and wires in order for the Dziki potion to work. One Apollo camper tore the blanket off of him, revealing a very skinny boy in his boxer shorts. On other occasions I would've found it funny, but nothing was funny about the fact that Jason's life lay in the hands of this Dziki potion.

His ribs were deeply engraved into his chest and his arms were like sticks. His skin clung to his skull and his lips were blue. I wanted the Apollo kids to hurry up, but if the process was rushed the potion may not work, and the all of this was for nothing.

Will came over, the Stygian glass vial cupped in his hands gingerly. The pink liquid that rose to the near top sloshed around lazily. Will made the sign of the cross and uttered a silent prayer that joined the prayers of everyone else in the room. Carefully, the counselor of the Apollo cabin uncorked the vial and opened Jason's mouth. He tipped the vial slightly and the pink liquid poured down into Jason's mouth and down his throat. The room was silent as we sucked in a breath and waited.

-Ω-

**Jason POV**

I had nearly lost hope. I had thought that my friends had given up on me; that my disease was incurable. I had so desperately wished that that wasn't the case but only after days of wandering aimlessly around my subconscious did my faith begin to wane. I picked at some pizza halfheartedly, trying not to get caught up in memories. It was so odd that an inanimate object such as pizza could trigger such powerful flashbacks. The ringing in my ears was becoming unbearable.

I'm not saying that I wanted Shadow back or anything, it was just that I was getting so lonely. No one to talk to. No one to spar with. No one to even argue with. I was alone. So utterly alone. The white walls were becoming all too dull and rather blinding. The grand rooms that I had created for myself didn't seem to have much luxury if I didn't have anyone to share it with or brag about it to. The only things that kept me sane were the kind word spoken by Nico to me.

They were the only things that made me believe that I could get out of here. I couldn't see him, but his voice echoed throughout my subconscious soothingly, telling me that Percy, Piper, and Leo were finding a cure. I didn't know whether it was my mind just making it up or because Nico was actually talking to me. Either way it was comforting in a way to be told that everything was going to be alright.

That's when the walls began to rumble. I leapt out of my seat and backed up against the wall. What was happening? Was Shadow back? Was I dying? My heart hammered in my chest so hard that I thought it would explode. I was hyperventilating, each breath less sustaining than the last. The plaster crumbled as my eyesight blurred and I collapsed onto the ground, moaning. Huge fissures appeared in the walls and the roof began to cave in, revealing the blackness that had appeared when Shadow's room had crumbled away.

_So this is what it feels like to die. _I thought pleasantly and my eyes closed. Little did I know that I wasn't dying; I was waking up.

-Ω-

**Nico POV**

We waited in silence and I counted the minutes. One minute. Two minutes. Both passed in a flash and we were just staring at Jason, our breathing shallow. Did it work? Did it fail? I hated not knowing what was going on. I wrung my hands and Percy put a hand on my shoulder. His green eyes were full of anxiousness and worry. He wanted the potion to work just as much as I did. That's when the heartbeat monitor began to beep again. Everyone in the room tensed and their eyes flew to Jason's right hand. His thumb had slowly begun to move, caressing the white sheets under him.

His toes curled. His chest rose and fell with steady breaths. His eyelids twitched. Once. Twice. Three times. His eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Everyone cheered and Jason jumped, looking around with wild eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Piper threw herself at Jason and the boy screamed, wriggling away from her and clambering to the farthest place away from piper on the bed as possible.

The tension thickened as the room fell silent. Why had Jason screamed? Did he not love Piper anymore? Was the disease still controlling him? Worst of all, was he afraid of us? Jason's breaths were no longer even; he was breathing heard, his eyes wild with fear. His head was on a swivel, scanning the crowd. His eyes rested on me and his whole body relaxed. When he seemed to realize that he just screamed, he looked down and his cheeks flamed a rosy red.

"Sorry it was just…unexpected." He admitted sheepishly.

-Ω-

**Percy POV**

Jason and I sat at the edge of the dock, letting our feet dangle into the water. The wind blew slightly and Jason flinched as if the breeze had hurt him. He was scared of everything now-a-days. He and Piper were no longer dating, for Jason had admitted that he had developed a fear of being touched during his time trapped in his subconscious. Piper hadn't been angry, just understanding and heartbroken. She said that if he ever felt that he was up to the relationship again she'd be more than willing to get back together.

We didn't pry Jason too much; he had seemed pretty stricken after waking up a month ago. We understood that he had basically been tortured inside his own head and we knew that we would never understand that feeling. We didn't try to sympathize with him or give him words of encouragement. We just treated him the way we treated him before he became infected, only with a few no-touch modifications. Nobody likes to be regarded as if they are sick, so we tried to make every one of Jason's days as normal as possible.

Jason looked down at the water, his blue eyes sad. "I don't know if I can continue." He croaked. I turned to him but he didn't return my gaze.

"Why is that?" I asked, my curiosity reaching its peak. There were so many questions left unanswered by Jason and I was hoping that as the horrible experience grew farther and farther into the past Jason would open up, but it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it at all.

"I just…" he paused and rubbed his forehead. "The things he did to me…" I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but it immediately snapped back to my side when he flinched away from me.

"Sorry…have to get used to the no touching thing." I told him, scratching the back of my neck in embarrassment. Jason laughed, a genuine laugh that was nothing like the quiet, contained laughs he'd share at the campfire.

"I get it, don't worry. It's just that…will anything ever be truly normal again?" I had to admit that it was a good question.

"I don't believe so, but we just have to move on." I reply, trying to make my voice as soothing as possible.

"Move on." Jason repeated as if testing how the words felt on his tongue. "I guess so."

"I promise that it won't happen again."

"You can't promise anything that you can't prevent."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine."

We shared a good laugh and I unconsciously put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't flinch away.


	19. Possible Shadow's Song Sequel?

**I am terribly sorry if you thought this was a new chapter. It's just some shout-outs and answering some reviews. BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER SO DON'T SKIP IT. **

**Here's a shout-out to all of those who followed this story:**

AndreaTaylor!

Dork Asian!

GallagherGirlx!

LeahDaughterofThanatos!

Olymus97!

Retribution!

Ccshaney!

**Here's a shout-out to those who favorited this story:**

75Check57!

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PiperValdez888

PoisonBones!

The Youngest Author!

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Gustly!

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**Now, I left out some people because these wonderful users followed AND favorited this story! These are for da real MVP's!**

BookNuts!

Evermyst!

Fandomgirl12!

Imnotlucky!

PinoyAko12!

Sparkle Aya!

UnexpectedChair!

Diomedes285!

Ronronbob123!

Shadoweater22!

Ljb135!

**Thank you all for this wonderful experience. I cannot express my gratitude enough. Now I will answer to some of the comments.**

UnexpectedChair: **So I looked up the Confrontation song form Jekyll and Hyde that you related the fanfiction to and I have to say that it's quite similar. The only problem is that I'm obsessed with Jekyll and Hyde now. Thanks. -_-**

Retribution: **Why thank you! I personally have not read any Stephen King novels but I've heard that they are amazing. I have no idea why on Earth I deserve to be compared to Stephen King!**

Fandomgirl12: **Well you got you're updates! Thanks for your support!**

LeahDaughterofThanatos: ***Eats virtual cookie* I need to update more often. **

The Youngest Author: **Thank you so much! **

Diomedes285: **Thanks for the constructive criticism; it helped me improve my writing! I also appreciate the fact that you enjoy my original plot!**

Evermyst: **Um…okay. Still, thanks for the support!**

Guest #1: **As you can see Jason has not eaten anyone. I was going to make him kill a camper or something, but I forfeited the idea to incorporating Shadow into the story. **

Witchychick: **He will be a skyrate if I come out with a sequel. I am grateful for the fact that I was able to entertain you with my story! That's what being an author is all about; not about how many follows or favorites or reviews you get, only the fact that you're letting people enjoy your writing.**

Guest #2: **Thanks!**

Guest #3: **As you can see I tried really hard to update. **

Guest #4: **Well you got your answer! He doesn't die! Yay! (Though when I first began this fanfiction I had the intention of killing Jason, but all of you guys changed my mind. **

**OKAY NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! MATT COMMENTED SOMETHING THAT I HAVE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AND IT IS UP TO YOU GUYS TO VOTE IN THE REVIEWS.**

Matt said:** How about you make two sequels of this story one where similar curses affect the sons of Poseidon/Neptune and Hades/Pluto? You could think of different disgusting symptoms for both of the different sicknesses.**

**So how about it? I could make this a trilogy and I've already come up with names for the diseases:**

**For the Poseidon/Neptune disease it will be Death's Darkness**

**For the Hades/Pluto disease it will be the Devil's Wrath**

**PLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSEEEE**

**REVIEW IN ORDER TO SEE IF I SHOULD MAKE THIS A TRILOGY OR NOT. **

**See you soon!**

**-Iwovepizza**


	20. Death's Darkness

**Note: Death's Darkness, the sequel to the Shadow's Song, has been posted and is now ready to read! :)**


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